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Updated May 31st, 2020 at 08:19 IST

Congress, BSP question lockdown measures despite statistical research backing its success

Ministry of Statistics and the Indian Statistical Institute has found that around 20 lakh COVID-19 cases and 54,000 deaths were averted due to lockdown.

Reported by: Pritesh Kamath
Congress
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Soon after the Ministry of Home Affairs announced the unlocking of COVID-19 induced lockdown from June 1, the Congress party targeted the Centre alleging that the lockdown imposed by the government served no purpose and has failed to control the spread of coronavirus.

Criticising the Centre's decision of lifting the lockdown, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, "Our party leader Rahul Gandhi had already said that the government has completely failed in the case of lockdown. Now, the government is accepting that there are no benefits of the lockdown. When there were 500 COVID-19 cases, the government had decided to go for lockdown. Today, when the cases have reached around 1.8 lakh, then lockdown norms have been eased, except for containment zones."

READ | MHA Introduces 'Unlock 1' Guidelines: Here's The List Of Permitted & Prohibited Activities

"The government should take precautions. People should also take precautions. Everything is open now, so the Centre should especially focus on health facilities, as that is the only solution for COVID-19," he added.

Likewise, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has also attacked the Centre over its handling of the COVID-19 crisis. BSP Spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria brought up the subject of completion of one year of Modi 2.0, saying 'PM Modi let people down'.

"We have seen the mismanagement in the last one year, more particularly during the coronavirus crisis. It has been managed very badly as far as the migrants and the poor are concerned. They have died on the railway tracks, they have died while travelling back to their homes," Bhadoria said.  "I think Modi Ji has let the people down in this coronavirus crisis phase, instead of giving a solution," he added.

READ | MHA Allows Unrestricted Inter-state & Intra-state Travel; Issues Guidelines For 'Unlock 1'

Lockdown vs no lockdown comparison

The opposition had earlier targeted the Centre for imposing the nationwide lockdown and is now criticising it for lockdown revocation. However, COVID-19 cases in the country have been increasing by the hour despite the lockdown measure, coupled with the economic fallout and migrant workers' crisis.

A joint study by the ministry of statistics and the Indian Statistical Institute had found that around 20 lakh COVID-19 cases and 54,000 deaths were averted on an average due to lockdown.

While addressing a press conference on May 22, Pravin Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics had said, "The number of COVID-19 cases averted due to the lockdown is in the range of 14-29 lakh, while the number of lives saved is between 37,000 and 78,000."

However, as on May 30, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India stands at 173,763, of which 82,369 have been recovered while 4,971 have succumbed to the virus. About 11,264 people have recovered in the last 24 hours, improving the recovery rate to 47.40 percent, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.

READ | Maharashtra: CM Thackeray Asks Varsities To Find Ways To Prioritise Education, Hold Exams

Unlock 1

Terming it as 'Unlock 1', the Centre on May 30 announced a phased exit from the lockdown and issued guidelines for the resumption of activities. The guidelines issued on Saturday will be effective till June 30 and the first phase is set to have an economic focus. 

Home Ministry has lifted almost all restrictions placed under the lockdown, however, the onus to implement relaxations has been put on state governments considering the prevalent COVID-19 situation in their respective states. The restrictions of lockdown in containment zones and hotspot areas will remain in effect till June 30.

READ | Centre Extends Nationwide Coronavirus Lockdown In Containment Zones Till June 30

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Published May 31st, 2020 at 08:19 IST

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