Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "stop holding events" and, instead, take steps to vaccinate everyone in the wake of the ferocious second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the country. He also sought financial help for the poor to tide over the prevailing economic conditions.
In a video message posted on Twitter today, he reminded the Prime Minister of his promise to win the battle against the pandemic in 18 days.
"You got bells rung, thaalis banged, mobile-phone torches lit. Corona kept moving ahead. Now it is the second wave. And lakhs of people have turned victims of the disease," Mr Gandhi said in the message.
"Now end this eventbaazi (propensity to hold events). Provide vaccines to those who need them. Stop exporting vaccines. And provide income support to our poor brothers and sisters. Thank you," he said.
The tweet accompanying the video carried a similar message saying the battle against "couldn't be won even after 385 days".
Mr Gandhi's message came on a day India saw the highest ever fresh number of Covid-19 cases being registered across the country at 1,68,912 and 904 pandemic-related deaths. The cumulative figure for the country now stands at 1,35,27,717 infections and 1,70,179 fatalities since Covid-19 hit India in January 2020.
The video message also comes days after PM Modi reportedly suggested the holding of a "Tika Festival" ("Injection Festival") to bump up vaccination numbers, even though several states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have shut down vaccination centres due to a lack of stocks.
A furious debate has also been raging over opening up of vaccination to all sections of the society instead of sticking to the limit set by the Central government of 45 years-or-more.
A spate of state elections and festivities have only exacerbated the situation with Covid-19 protocols barely being followed amid mass gatherings.
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