Rajasthan Forms 3 Teams To Audit COVID Deaths Following Allegations Of Under Reporting

Amid chorus over deaths due to Covid-19 in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, claiming that his administration is not fudging the data or hiding the fatality figure in the state, has constituted teams to audit deaths caused by Covid-19 so that the real picture come to light.

Why the audit

The move comes in response to the Oppositions charges that the Congress-led government is under-reporting deaths due to Covid-19. Speaking at the Covid-19 review meeting on Tuesday, Gehlot said that Rajasthan does not have a tradition of hiding deaths and that the state dispensation is concerned more about the lives of people than the figures.

Agencies

The CM further asked his officials to conduct an audit of Covid-19 deaths in Rajasthan so that the true data of Covid and non-Covid deaths is known to all, and going ahead the social security of families of coronavirus victims can be looked into.

Health minister, Dr Raghu Sharma said the statistics of deaths from Covid-19 in the state have already been verified by senior officials. It will now be certified within the prescribed time-limit by the three teams headed by senior doctors in compliance with chief minister Ashok Gehlot¡¯s directive.

Opposition's allegations

BJP national spokesperson and Jaipur Rural MP Colonel (retd) Rajyavardhan Rathore had earlier alleged that the state government was fudging the Covid death toll. Rathore claimed that while the official data showed 3,900 Covid-19 deaths in Rajasthan between April 1 and May 20, several media reports have shown that more than 14,400 people died in the same period.

Reuters

State BJP president Satish Poonia accused the Chief Minister of creating an atmosphere of fear in Rajasthan by speaking about the possibility of an outbreak among children.

¡°The chief minister is saying that the government will not be able to save the children. By saying this, the chief minister is not only giving evidence of his irresponsibility, but is creating an atmosphere of fear in the state,¡± he said.

BCCL

'Official death data' by the govt

He said in 2019, a total of 396,799 deaths were registered in the state, which increased to 420,403 in 2020 -- an increase of 5.94%. Similarly, from January 2020 to May 25, 2020, the number of deaths registered was 1,66,392; which rose this year to 1,75,244 ¨C an increase by 5.31%. He said the growth rate was the same as the previous year.

Reuters (Representational Image)

Sharma said due to Covid-19 from March 2020 to March 2021, a total of 2,818 deaths happened - In the same period, the total number of deaths was 4,39,996. The number of Covid-19 deaths between April and May this year stood at 5,093, which is 6.12 % of all 83,188 deaths recorded so far in the state.