MP underreported Covid deaths, Oppn slams govt

Bhopal: The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh faced Opposition fire over alleged underreporting of coronavirus cases, even as it registered a sound performance in Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls held in the State during the year.

Blaming the State government for underreporting Covid-related deaths, former chief minister Kamal Nath claimed that over one lakh people died from the infection in March and April across the State. Bhopal police lodged an FIR against Kamal Nath, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, for his controversial "Indian Variant" coronavirus remark.

The ruling BJP accused Kamal Nath of spreading misleading information through his remarks on the B.1.617 variant, which he referred to as the "Indian Variant". While State Congress spokesman KK Mishra claimed that over two lakh people died during the pandemic, health officials put the death toll so far at 10,529.

Mishra cited figures from various cremation grounds in the state to prove his point. National and international media highlighted the large number of deaths in the state but the BJP government continues to hide the real figures, he said. After a tumultuous 2020 that saw the fall of the Congress government, followed by the Covid-19 pandemic, this year was largely stable on the political front.

Officials said 82 per cent of the eligible population in Madhya Pradesh received both the doses of coronavirus vaccines so far. Chouhan congratulated people, social workers, institutions, crisis management committee members, health staff and public representatives for this achievement. In March, the Assembly passed the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 2021 to check religious conversions through marriage or by any fraudulent means, with provision of 10 years imprisonment in some cases and hefty fine for violators. Soon after it was passed, cases were filed against religious conversions in Khargone, Jhabua and Barwani districts. In December, right-wing activists and local residents barged into St Joseph School in Ganj Basoda town, about 110 km from Bhopal, and pelted stones and vandalised property. Similar organisations also ransacked the sets of web series Ashram in Bhopal claiming it maligned Hindu culture. Ahead of the Assembly winter session, which began on December 20, Madhya Pradesh government cleared a draft bill to penalise those who destroy government and private property during protests, demonstrations, strikes and riots and recover double the amount of damage.