‘Managing News Won’t Help Fight Virus’: In Letter to Adityanath, Priyanka Gandhi Offers Suggestions

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accusing his government of managing news and advertising while Covid-19 figures in the state continue to rise unabated.

“Along with the spread of Coronavirus in UP, terrible problems are also coming up. There is a shortage of beds. There is a long line outside hospitals. Death figures are increasing. The reports from Kanpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Varanasi are not good. I have written some positive suggestions to CM sir. The UP government needs to leave a stubborn attitude and adopt a transparent and public-oriented policy,” Priyanka Gandhi tweeted.

In the letter to CM, Priyanka raised the issue of rising positive coronavirus cases and low testing, “yesterday there were more than 2500 cases in the state and now big cities along with rural areas are in the grip of this virus. It is clear that your government has adopted the policy of ‘No Test = No Corona’, the situation however now is critical. Till the time testing won’t be increasing in a transparent manner, our fight will be incomplete and the situation might turn dangerous.”

“The quarantine centres and hospitals are in a bad shape to the extent that people are not scared of the virus but they are scared of the government's arrangements. Your government has claimed that there are 1.5 lakh beds but it seems that there is a shortage at just 20,000 cases,” the letter added.

Further suggesting that the military should intervene as the situation continues to deteriorate, the letter added, “ DRDO, Military and Paramilitary can set up and run the temporary hospitals. Also, more clarity is needed on home quarantine arrangements like monitoring and surveillance of the patients, expense on health facilities during home quarantine etc.”

“The situation is getting grim, and I request you that this fight cannot be won by managing news and advertising. I am aware that you might consider my suggestion from a political point of view like it was done during the time when busses were provided for the labourers walking on the roads of Uttar Pradesh,” it further stated.