Centre, states doing everything possible to tackle COVID crisis: Rajnath Singh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Centre and the state governments are doing everything possible to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, while asserting that only those who perform commit mistakes.
"The speed displayed by the Uttar Pradesh government in tackling the COVID cases should be praised. Mistakes can be committed by anyone. Only a person who performs will commit mistakes. But this is not the time for criticism, if anyone spots any loophole and offers suggestions, the state government will welcome it," he told reporters.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted this pandemic as a challenge and the government is doing everything possible to tackle this challenge," he said, adding that many countries are helping India at this hour of crisis because of the good diplomatic relations forged by the prime minister.
The Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow visited a 255-bed COVID hospital built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at the Haj House here and conveyed condolences to the families of the COVID-19 victims.
"You may or may not have seen today's news. The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised the work of the Uttar Pradesh government. It is not a small thing," Singh claimed.
In a tweet on Monday, the WHO said, "In #India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh, the state gov. has initiated house-to-house active case finding of #COVID19 in rural areas to contain transmission by testing people with symptoms for rapid isolation, disease management & contact tracing."
A state government press note said, "The World Health Organization lauded the efforts of the Uttar Pradesh government to contain the virus in rural areas with special reference to the mass testing drive being conducted in the revenue villages as the state government is exerting efforts to ensure the safety of villagers."
The global health body valued the measures taken by Adityanath and his government in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the remote areas of the state, it said.
The WHO has been working with the state government in these activities, the organisation’s tweets indicate.
The defence minister said, "All the state governments and the Centre are doing everything possible to tackle this challenge. I want to reiterate that only a person who performs will commit mistakes and he should not be criticised, but should be given suggestions."
He said the 255-bed COVID hospital will have 25 ventilators and approximately 100 HFNCs (High Flow Nasal Cannula).
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu on Tuesday thrashed the state government's claims on managing the coronavirus pandemic. His 's statement came hours after the defence minister's visit to the city, where he praised Adityanath’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath thanked the prime minister and the defence minister, and said a 500-bed COVID hospital built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was made functional at Lucknow's Avadh Shilpgram and a 750-bed COVID hospital became functional in Varanasi on Monday.
"People must follow the guidelines of the Centre and the state government. This will help break the chain of transmission of the virus," he said.
On May 5, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee COVID Hospital set up by the DRDO in Lucknow was made functional.
