Accusing the BJP government in the State of lying to the people on the death toll in COVID-19, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has estimated that about 3.5 lakh people had died in the State due to the pandemic.
Speaking at Sahaya Hasta and Cycle Jatha, two programmes organised by the party in Mysuru to extend a helping hand to people affected by COVID-19 and condemn the fuel price rise respectively, the former Chief Minister said the death toll in the pandemic is ten times the figures cited by the State government.
The second wave has claimed a lot more lives than the the first wave, he said. “Though the government claims that the death toll in the State due to COVID-19 is about 35,000, I would estimate the figure to be ten times more”, he said while adding that several of his friends too had died in the pandemic.
He asked people to remain vigilant against COVID-19 and take precautions. Though the second wave is declining, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the experts were predicting the third wave in September-October this year. Citing experts, Mr. Siddaramaiah said people who had not contracted the virus in the first and second wave were susceptible in the third wave and emphasised the importance of vaccinating themselves to keep COVID-19 at bay.
The pandemic and the lockdown had affected a large number of people in the State, particularly the poor and labourers. The Congress had advised the BJP government in the State to give ₹10,000 and 10 kgs of rice to each BPL family to tide over the unprecedented financial crisis they were facing, but the State government ignored the suggestion, he regretted.
“It would have cost the State government only ₹15,000 crore”, Mr. Siddaramaiah said adding that the sum was small compared to the State government’s annual budgetary outlay of ₹ 2.45 lakh crore.
Though the government was providing 7 kg of rice to each individual belonging to BPL category when he was the Chief Minister, the B.S. Yediyurappa government had brought it down to just 2 kg, he lamented.
Mr. Siddaramaiah accused the BJP government of indulging in corruption by allegedly collecting commission. He said files do no not move in the government unless a bribe of 10 per cent commission is paid.
The Congress leader trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi also. People should be wary of the Prime Minister’s “Acche Din”. “Whenever he says Acche Din will come, people have to understand that bad days are coming”, he warned and said the Modi-led government at the Centre has not been able to fulfil the promises it made to the people.
