Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA claims ‘hundreds died due to oxygen scarcity’

BJP MLA Shyam Prakash made the remark while replying to a scribe’s Facebook post

July 26, 2021 12:22 pm | Updated 02:47 pm IST - LUCKNOW:

Days after the Central government claimed that nobody died due to lack of oxygen during the second wave of COVID-19, a BJP MLA in Uttar Pradesh has claimed that “hundreds of people died in agony due go lack of oxygen.”

Shyam Prakash, BJP MLA from the reserved seat Gopamau in Hardoi, made the statement in a comment on a Facebook post by a local journalist on Sunday.

The scribe had posted the paper cutting of his newspaper’s coverage of the Centre’s claim that nobody died of oxygen scarcity and countered it with assertions made by the BJP’s own MLAs during the peak of the crisis. Many BJP MLAs had written letters outlining the crisis in their constituencies.

Commenting on the post by journalist Anand Mishra, which he had captioned as “the world not does write the stories of the mute,” MLA Prakash said, “You have spoken the truth. I agree with you.”

The MLA went on to state that hundreds of people died due to lack of oxygen.

“Nobody can see the pain of MLA Rajkumar Agrwal and lakhs of other families,” he said, referring to his colleague from Sandila whose son died of COVID-19 in April during the second wave. Mr. Agrwal had then alleged negligence on behalf of hospital administration and even tried to get an FIR lodged.

On Monday, Mr. Prakash clarified his comments and blamed the media for making a mountain out of a molehill. “Where in my comment have I written that deaths only took place in UP and only during the second wave? I spoke of the entire country, and that is the truth,” he said.

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