Sambit Patra accused the Congress of playing politics over the pandemic.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's 'white paper' on the Centre's Covid management, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused the Congress of politicising India's ongoing battle against the Covid pandemic. Interacting with journalists during a press conference in New Delhi, senior BJP leader Sambit Patra said the whenever a 'decisive point comes in India's battle against COVID-19, Congress tries to politicise it'.
Patra said the Congress must clarify whether the first family of party - Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi, Robert Vadra - have taken the Covid vaccine or not.
"I would want to give an unsolicited advice to Rahul Gandhiji...how long will you continue to do virtual press conference. Try and visit the Congress- ruled states and see it for yourself how they have lagged behind in carrying out vaccination. The second wave (of Covid) started from Congress-ruled states and they were the worst affected too," the BJP leader said.
'Gyani Baba': Smriti Irani mocks Rahul Gandhi
Union Minister Smriti Irani too attacked Rahul Gandhi while pointing out the failures of Congress controlled states in managing the pandemic.
"While Gyani Baba is dishing out pearls of wisdom to Honorable Prime Minister, he may like to introspect on the following - •Where did second wave start? - Congress ruled states • Which states had huge percentage of India’s cases and deaths? - Congress ruled states," Irani said in a series of tweets.
"State with the highest case fatality rate - Congress ruled state •States with maximum noise against vaccines creating vaccine hesitancy - Congress ruled states •States which had an astronomical positivity rate during the second wave - Congress ruled states," she added.
The BJP's outburst against Rahul Gandhi came after the former Congress president described the Modi government's handling of first and second wave of COVID-19 as 'disastrous'.
"There were certain reasons as to why it was disastrous, we've tried to point out those reasons in our white paper. This is a blueprint about how to react to the third wave which is going to come. It is our intention to provide the government with information and insights into what went wrong," Rahul Gandhi said speaking during a virtual press interaction.
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The aim of this white paper is not finger-pointing at the government but to help the nation prepare for the third wave of infection, he said.
Asserting that the central pillar to fight Covid is vaccination, Gandhi said it is important that "we cross bridge of 100 per cent vaccination as soon as possible".
