Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is accused of confusing India’s response to the Covid – 19 crisis amid a devastating second wave of infections that kill hundreds a day and send hospitals across the country into crisis.
As infections are spinning, officials are allowing attending religious festivals and election rallies attended by thousands.
The #ResignModi hashtag was the biggest trend on Twitter in India on Monday – two days after the prime minister urged people to personally vote for his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party in ‘record numbers’ for the state assembly in the eastern state of West. Bengal. Tens of thousands attended Modi’s rally in the state on Saturday, while millions struggled with a record rise in Covid-19 cases that sent hospitals to breaking point.
“I can see a sea of masses. “I have never seen such a rally,” Modi told his supporters.
Also on Monday, India reported 273,810 new Covid-19 cases – according to data from the Indian Ministry of Health, the highest one day so far. The country registered 1,619 coronavirus deaths in one day – a record high – bringing the total to 178,769.
India, the second largest country in the world by population, has registered the second highest number of Covid-19 cases, with more than 15 million people infected. Only the United States has reported more infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Amid the ongoing crisis, hospitals across the country are reporting severe oxygen deficiencies and a shortage of beds, with intensive care units having little space, while vaccine supplies are also in short supply.
Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said oxygen had become an ’emergency’ in the city.
“Instead of increasing supply, our normal supply has been sharply reduced and the quota has been diverted from Delhi to other states,” he tweeted on Sunday.
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Less than 100 critical care beds were available in the city with more than 20 million people, Kejriwal told Reuters on Sunday during a news conference.
Kejriwal on Monday imposed a six-day lockdown in New Delhi to prevent the collapse of the capital’s health system.
“Delhi’s health system has reached its limits. I am not saying that the system has collapsed, but that it has reached its limits,” he said.
Modi’s government on Sunday issued a statement praising India’s vaccination drive, pointing out that the country is the ‘fastest country in the world’ to administer 120 million doses.
In January, India launched the world’s largest vaccination, with more than 300 million shots planned. According to Johns Hopkins University, so far only 14.3 million people – just over 1 percent of India’s population – have been fully vaccinated.
The country’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has come under fire for allegedly issuing an internal memorandum last week urging its staff to practice Simha Yogic Kriya, a form of yoga.
According to local newspaper The Tribune India, the ministry has said that practicing the form of yoga will boost immunity and deal positively with the current crisis.
NBC News contacted the ministry for comment, but did not confirm the report.
The increase in India increased when millions of Hindu devotees simultaneously flocked to the northern state of Uttarakhand for the Kumbh Mela festival while defying social distance rules to perform prayers and rituals.
The month-long festival, which takes place about every 12 years, is one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals. Pilgrims attend prayers and “wash away their sins” in the Ganges River, which is considered sacred to Hindus.