The Congress on Thursday claimed that that the second wave of COVID-19 had exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “failed” Gujarat model that was built on “publicity, good headlines and PR management”.
The party also asserted that Congress-ruled States would make every effort to ensure free vaccines for all.
All India Congress Committee in-charge for Gujarat Rajeev Satav, State unit chief Amit Chavda and Congress Legislative Party leader Paresh Dhanani, in an online press conference, said that the pandemic situation in Guajarat was out of control.
Recalling Mr. Modi’s promise of implementing the Gujarat model across the country ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Satav said, “Nobody understood that the Gujarat model means only publicity, good headlines and PR management. In the last six years, what the PM has done is replicate the Gujarat model in the country.
“He (PM) talked a lot about the Gujarat model, but neither could health infrastructure nor other things be improved. The Gujarat model has only been of publicity,” he added.
Mr. Satav, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, alleged that the the BJP in the past 25 years of being in power in the State had not built any new hospital but added “some MLAs poached from the Congress”.
The Congress MP asked the Centre to to put on hold projects like the Central Vista, bullet train and new aircraft purchase and provide free vaccines for all.
Asked if the Congress-ruled states would provide free vaccines for all, he said, “I am confident that Congress-ruled states will work effectively towards providing vaccines for all. They will be exploring the options.”
Mr. Chavda alleged that the first wave in India was due to the “Namaste Trump” event organised by Mr. Modi in February last year and the second wave came due to the “Namaste Stump” organised by Home Minister Amit Shah’s son, Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Mr. Chavda alleged that the state of affairs in Gujarat was so bad that 14 districts still do not have CT scan machines in district hospitals and antiviral drug Remdesivir is in short supply.
