Published 19:13 IST, July 18th 2020
Bihar: JDU leader hits back at Tejashwi Yadav on handling of COVID situation in the state
Neeraj Kumar on Saturday refuted the allegations leveled by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav that the state government is inept in handling the COVID-19 situation
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Refuting allegations levelled by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav that the state government is inept in handling the COVID-19 situation in Bihar, Minister Neeraj Kumar said that Coronavirus is a pandemic and people of Bihar know that it is a difficult situation. Earlier in the day, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the NDA government and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for under testing people despite a surge in positive cases.
Neeraj Kumar said, "Corona is a pandemic and people of Bihar know that it is a difficult situation. The state government is putting all its efforts."
"Prince of corruption, your father used to make fun of people during floods by advising them to catch fish," Kumar added.
The JDU leader further said, "The state government is sensitive to the issue (COVID-19) and is taking all measures to curb the infection. The doctors and health workers are putting their lives at risk to save people. But you (Tejashwi) can't see it."
Tejashwi Slams Bihar Govt Over Low Testing Rate
Sharing the COVID-19 figures on Twitter, the RJD leader stated that Nitish Kumar is ‘playing havoc with the lives of 12.6 crore Biharis’. He accused the CM of suppressing the data for maintaining his image while many people lost their lives due to the infection. Lakhs of people may die if under testing goes on like this in the state, he added.
In a subsequent tweet, Tejashwi Yadav alleged that Bihar recorded a highest single-day surge of 2,226 new Coronavirus cases but to avoid it from making headlines, CM Nitish Kumar hid the actual figures and published half of the cases another day. If more than 30,000 tests are conducted daily in Bihar, the state will record the highest number of cases, he said.
Central team to visit Bihar
Amid worsening COVID-19 situation in Bihar, the Centre has decided to send a special team to assess the condition. While the BJP headquarters in capital Patna has become the COVID hotspot, with more than 70 people infected with the virus, all the districts have reported COVID cases and the state has, till date, tested only 3.58 lakh samples.
"In view of the rising trend of COVID-19 cases being observed in Bihar, a decision has been taken to depute a multi-disciplinary team to review and coordinate with the State Health Department in managing the COVID-19 outbreak there," the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
The team will comprise of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal, Dr S K Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control and Dr Neeraj Nischal, Associate Professor, Medicine at AIIMS New Delhi.
19:13 IST, July 18th 2020