Congress slams BJP for politicizing COVID-19 pandemic in Dakshina Kannada District
Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Congress party in a press conference on Thursday slammed the ruling BJP for allegedly politicizing the COVID-19 pandemic in the district.
Speaking at a press conference at the District Congress office here in the city, the Congress District President and MLC Harish Kumar claimed that the resources dispensed by Central and State government for the poor people were being misused by the BJP party workers and corporators in Dakshina Kannada District.
Alleging that the ruling BJP was politicizing the pandemic and using it for political gains, Harish Kumar said “The BJP is misusing people’s money and resources for their own political gains. The resources that are meant to be distributed to the poor people during the pandemic are being used to advertise the BJP. This is unethical as the resources come from people’s money, but the government is taking credit for it”.
“Similarly, the party also used the pictures of PM Modi on the ration distribution campaign, vaccination certificates, and RT-PCR reports” he added.
He further claimed that the elected Corporators of Congress party at the panchayath levels were also being ignored by the BJP and they were not being taken into confidence before making any decision.
“Our corporators are being sidelined. They are not being invited to the meetings where decisions are made. One of our corporators was first sanctioned 500 COVID-19 vaccination for his ward, it was then reduced to 300 and later the sanctioned vaccines were canceled adding ‘lack of resources”.
He questioned if the vaccines were sanctioned to the Congress corporator, why did the BJP administration have to cancel them. “Where did all those vaccines go?” he asked.
Harish Kumar was accompanied by other senior Congress leaders at the press conference.
Vartha Bharati News Bureau/ Taha Kausar
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Bengal: On way to PM's rally, 3 mowed down by train amid dense fog
Kolkata (PTI): Three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said.
Modi, whose helicopter could not land at Taherpur due to dense fog and low visibility, condoled the death of the “BJP workers” in his virtual address from Kolkata airport.
“I have come to know that some BJP workers, while travelling to the rally, lost their lives in a rail accident. My condolences are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Modi said.
The Eastern Railway official told PTI that the incident occurred in the morning when these people, who were travelling by a bus, had stopped the vehicle and walked to the railway tracks to answer nature's call.
"While three persons died on the spot, two others with injuries were admitted to a local hospital," he said.
Another person with minor injuries was released after having been administered first aid, the official said.
The deceased have been identified as Ramprasad Ghosh (74), Shaktipada Sutradhar (55) and Gopinath Das (38).
Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar constituency in Nadia district, alleged that the BJP ignored the incident and went ahead with the rally.
"Terrible tragedy hushed up at altar of @narendramodi ego. @BJP4India supporters brought from far Murshidabad for PM rally in Ranaghat today," she said in a post on X.
"4 went to answer nature's call and were killed by 31814 down local train near Taherpur. BJP ignored, blacked out & went ahead with rally," Moitra claimed.
Reacting to her remarks, the West Bengal BJP, in a post on X, asserted that the TMC "has always been adept at milking tragedies", and was being "disrespectful to the unfortunate victims of this tragedy".
The TMC alleged that BJP leaders have not shown "neither concern nor compassion" over the mishap.
"The loss of three lives in Taherpur should have united everyone in grief. But @BJP4India leaders showed neither concern nor compassion," it said in another post on X.
"At this painful moment, Smt @MamataOfficial and Shri @abhishekaitc put humanity above party lines and stood beside the families of the deceased," the party said.
TMC’s on-ground leaders promptly reached out to the grieving family members, ensuring them of help and assistance, it said.
"While Delhi’s rulers chase Bengal with arrogance, our leadership chose empathy. This is the difference between politics of power and politics of people!" the TMC added.
