BJP Govt in Gujarat Not Conducting Enough Covid-19 Tests, Suppressing Related Data: Congress

The BJP government in Gujarat is not conducting enough COVID-19 tests and is also suppressing related data, the Maharashtra Congress alleged on Tuesday.

The Congress' charge came two days after the Gujarat High Court questioned the Vijay Rupani government's decision to not allow private laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests, saying whether this is meant to "artificially control" the data of number of coronavirus cases in the state.

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant alleged that the situation in the other BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh is "almost the same" and added these governments have surrendered to the novel coronavirus.

Hitting out at BJP leaders for their criticism of the Maharashtra government's handling of the COVID-19 situation , Sawant asked them to first check the "failed Gujarat model" before talking about the Maha Vikas Aghadi's performance.

"While Gujarat is not conducting enough tests, the COVID-19 data is also being suppressed in the BJP ruled states," Sawant said in a statement.

"The Gujarat High Court lambasted the healthcare system and termed the hospitals worse than dungeons and compared it to a sinking ship Titanic.

"The situation is almost similar in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh where the governments have bowed down to coronavirus," Sawant alleged.

"While responding on behalf of the government to the COVID-19 situation in Ahmedabad, the advocate general shared some shocking facts. He informed the court that more tests may lead to 70 per cent of the population testing positive for COVID-19, thereby leading to fear psychosis in the public.

"If we consider the current population estimate of Ahmedabad as 78 lakh or based on the 2011 census, the city has a population of 55.7 lakh, Sawant said.

He said that given the situation in the BJP-ruled state, BJP leaders in Maharashtra have no moral right to speak on the situation in the state.

Sawant said the state government is working "scientifically and it is not engaged in activities like clapping and lighting lamps".

Sawant alleged that BJP MP Narayan Rane's demand for imposition of President's rule in the state did not come all of sudden, but was a ploy of the BJP leadership at the Centre.