The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on the COVID-19 situation on Tuesday, 20 April.
Congress criticised the prime minister’s speech in a tweet and said, “The prime minister will campaign and give lectures and expect that the solutions should be found out by the people themselves.”
“Mr Prime Minister, the country needs a solution to Coronavirus, not your lecture,” they later added.
AAP’s Sanjay Singh called out the Prime Minister for campaigning for the West Bengal elections during the second wave of COVID-19. He said, “ The country is fighting and we are contesting elections.”
The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and vice-president of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, compare the government’s response during the first and second wave of COVID-19.
“PM Modi’s address reads as an admission that COVID wave 1 centralised response, including national lockdown, didn’t work. Wave 2 response is now a state problem further decentralised to mohala committees. What a difference a year makes,” he wrote on Twitter.
News agency ANI reported Chhattisgarh Minister TS Singh Deo as saying, “I was hoping that PM in his address would announce free vaccine for every citizen. PM didn't mention anything on how much the vaccine production capacity will be boosted and on the number of vaccine doses to be given to states after that.”
Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik followed a similar line of criticism and said, “The PM has said that lockdown should be the last option for states. But various courts in the country have given directives for lockdown. The people were hopeful that a relief package would be announced by PM for migrant workers, poor, small traders.”
PM Modi, in his address, expressed his sympathies to the people who have lost a dear one to COVID-19 while acknowledging that the country is facing a second wave of COVID-19.
PM Modi, earlier on Tuesday evening, held a meeting with vaccine manufacturers via video conferencing, asking them to scale up production capacity to vaccinate all Indian citizens in the shortest time possible.
On Tuesday, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,53,21,089 with 2,59,170 new coronavirus infections being reported in the last 24 hours, while active cases surpassed the 20-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
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