'Sab yaad rakhha jayega': Rahul Gandhi targets Centre over deaths due to Oxygen shortage

New Delhi: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi once again targeted the NDA government over the deaths due to shortage of oxygen during the second wave of COVID-19, saying ‘sab yaad rakha jayega’ (everything will be remembered).

"Everything will be remembered," the Congress MP from Kerala`s Wayanad said in a short tweet in Hindi on Thursday.

सब याद रखा जाएगा।#OxygenShortage pic.twitter.com/I5ouDxz7IR — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 22, 2021

Rahul tweeted with the hashtag #OxygenShortage and also attached a video showing people searching for oxygen cylinders and carrying their loved ones for the oxygen during the second wave of the pandemic.

It may be noted that the Narendra Modi dispensation has faced intense criticism after it informed the Rajya Sabha that no deaths were reported due to lack of oxygen during the second wave.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal had on Thursday moved a privilege motion against Minister of State for Health Bharti Pravin Pawar who informed the Rajya Sabha two days ago that no one died due to a shortage of oxygen during the second wave of the COVID pandemic.

Pawar, in a written reply, had said, "Detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union Health Ministry to all states and UTs. Accordingly, all states and UTs report cases and deaths to the Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by states and UTs."

Reacting to it, Venugopal, on whose question the Minister had replied in the House, said everyone has seen how people died due to shortage of oxygen in several states, including the national capital. 

"Actually, the minister misled the House and I will move a privilege notice against that minister definitely because the minister misguided and misled the House by giving false information," he said.

Opposition parties have stepped up attack on the Centre over its statement that no deaths due to oxygen shortage were reported by states and UTs during the second COVID-19 wave, alleging it was trying to hide its mistakes by "lying", but the BJP accused them of doing politics on the issue and pointed out their own governments in states did not report such fatalities.

Amid the row, Maharashtra, where the Congress, Shiv Sena and the NCP are in power, and BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat maintained that there were no deaths due to oxygen shortage in these states, while Delhi's Health Minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain said there have been many such fatalities in the national capital and other places across the country.