Govt being overconfident about COVID, it's not over yet: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Feb 17: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Centre of being "grossly" negligent and overconfident about the handling of the coronavirus situation, saying the pandemic was not over yet.
The comments came after South African and Brazilian variants of the pathogen were detected in India.
"GOI is being grossly negligent and over confident about Covid-19. It's not over yet," Gandhi tweeted.
For the first time in India, four people were detected with the South Africa variant of SARS-CoV-2 and one tested positive for the Brazil variant in the country, the Health Ministry had said on Tuesday.
In India, the South Africa strain has been detected in four returnees, one from Angola, one from Tanzania and two from South Africa in January, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava had said.
With 11,610 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 1,09,37,320 on Wednesday, while the number of recoveries has surged to 1,06,44,858, the ministry said.
The death has gone up to 1,55,913 in the country with 100 more fatalities reported in a 24-hour period, as per the ministry's data.
GOI is being grossly negligent and over confident about Covid-19.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 17, 2021
It’s not over yet. pic.twitter.com/W3FcSkS2JD
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
