Tejashwi Yadav attacks Nitish Kumar over COVID crisis; says govt 'lying' & 'manipulating'

On Thursday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the Bihar government of "lying" and "manipulating" the COVID-19 numbers in the state. The world is still reeling under coronavirus and amid this chaos, Bihar is struggling with floods as well. 

He further cited the COVID-19 data, asserting that the government is lying and manipulating. He further demanded an increase in RT-PCR testing

"There used to be 3,000-3,500 COVID-19 cases when there 10,000 tests were being conducted. Now when the state is testing 75,000 samples for COVID-19 even then these numbers are restricted to 4,000. This means that the government is lying and manipulating. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is focusing on the increasing number of rapid Antigen testing to save his face."

"As per the Bihar government data, on an average 6,100 RT-PCR tests are being conducted which means that only 10 percent of the total COVID-19 tests are being conducted through the RT-PCR method. We demand an increase in RT-PCR testing," he added.

Yadav also accused the Central government of meting out step-motherly treatment to Bihar.

READ: Tejashwi Yadav hits out at Bihar CM over floods & COVID; says Nitish govt in deep slumber

READ: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar asks officials to create awareness about his govt's work

COVID in Bihar 

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 death toll in Bihar mounted to 474 after nine patients succumbed to the disease, while 3,741 fresh cases of infection pushed state''s coronavirus caseload to 90,553, a health department bulletin said on Wednesday.

The state tested 92,414 samples in the past 24 hours and the department is aiming to achieve the target of one lakh tests per day very soon, Health Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh said.

He said that the state has 30,010 active cases. Of the nine latest fatalities, one death each was reported from Arwal, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Jehanabad, Madhubani, Patna, Samastipur and Supaul, the bulletin said. Patna has, so far, recorded the highest number

READ: Bihar flood situation deteriorates; over 77 lakh affected

Earlier, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over inaction as millions in the state are affected by floods, lack of jobs and the ongoing coronavirus crisis. More than 30 teams have been deployed to aid the people in the flood-affected areas on August 6. National Disaster Response Force and SDRF teams were also sent to tackle the situation in multiple districts of Bihar as per the Disaster Management Department of the state.

READ: Bihar reports highest single-day spike of 4,071 cases; 15 more fatalities push death toll to 465