The Kerala government, which cheated the world by putting out wrong and misleading picture of its COVID management efforts, should apologise to the people and return all the laurels it received for the effective pandemic control measures, demanded Congress leader Benny Behannan, MP.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Behannan alleged that the State government fudged the pandemic data including the number of tests conducted, the sick, and those who died. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was using the pandemic situation to reap political benefits, he alleged.
The tall claims of Mr. Vijayan and Health Minister K.K. Shylaja regarding the disease control measures proved to be hollow, as Kerala now topped the list of the States with the highest number of patients. Mr. Vijayan failed to understand the intensity and spread of the disease in the State, he alleged.
Mr. Behannan alleged that Kerala was the only State that tried to harvest political gains out of the disease. The government had become the merchants of death as COVID-19 count had peaked in the State, he said.
The State government should reveal the names of epidemiologists from whom it sought advice for handling the health situation. The State should follow the good practices followed elsewhere to check the spread of the disease, he demanded.
Hibi Eden, MP, said the First-Line Treatment Centres of the State had been completely closed down, which left an impact on the health scene. The scarcity of funds with the local bodies, which was running the Centres, had also impacted the disease control measures, he alleged.
T.J. Vinod, MLA, was also present.
