UP govt remains 'mute spectator' to rise in COVID-19 cases: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday blamed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for remaining a "mute spectator" even as fresh cases of COVID-19 are reported daily from the state. In a statement issued here, Yadav said, "The truth is that officials of the UP government are exercising laxity in discharging their duties. The officials want to save themselves. The disease is assuming serious proportions in the state because they are refraining from speaking the truth."

"The problem is increasing since the situation is not being analysed properly and the government is a mute spectator," the former chief minister said. The SP president also alleged that the COVID-19 patients are neither getting ambulances, nor are they getting admitted to hospitals. There is a shortage of doctors and paramedical staff in the hospitals with no upkeep of cleanliness in the hospitals, the 47-year-old said.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he said, "The UP chief minister is claiming that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has returned back as it was earlier. There is no strength to back up his claim."