Owaisi offended by PM Modi's all-party meet ahead of Bakrid; asks why such little respect?

'Insulted' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to call an all-party meeting on the eve of Bakri Eid, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi criticized the government on Tuesday for showing "little respect for other's festivals."

"An has been called by govt to brief floor leaders on govt’s COVID-19 (mis)management. The PM will also attend. It’s insulting that it’s been scheduled on the evening before Eid. It could have easily been scheduled on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. Why such lack of respect for others’ festivals? " tweeted Owaisi, lamenting that he will have to skip the meeting due to festivities. 

The AIMIM MP said he 'definitely' wanted to attend the meeting and list the 'many failures' of PM Modi in saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Had the Supreme Court not intervened, we cannot imagine how much worse the situation would have been," he said. 

He also asked for a copy of the presentation made by the Prime Minister so he can raise questions to the government. Criticizing the government's handling of the health crisis, Owaisi recalled that the BJP had congratulated Modi for the nation's victory against COVID-19. 

"Narendraji had congratulated himself for defeating COVID 'without vaccines'. Where’s this bravado now?" he asked. 

PM Modi calls all-party meet

Earlier in the day, PM Modi called an all-party meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic and the supply of vaccines. Representatives from AIADMK, Shiv Sena, NCP, BJD, Tamil Manila Congress, TMC, JD(S), TRS, YSRCP, LJP, BSP, JDU, and NDPP attended the meeting. 

Addressing the leaders, PM Modi urged the states to rise above politics and work together as a team to combat the pandemic. He also underlines the need to remain vigilant while citing the resurgence of Coronavirus in various countries. According to sources, some parties sought to expedite the process for getting international recognition of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine - Covaxin.

India's COVID-19 situation

As the declining trend in COVID cases continues, India registered around 30,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest in the last four months. The country's total caseload now stands at nearly 3.11 crore. In the same time period, 374 deaths were reported across the country, bringing the total death toll to 4.14 lakh. Every state reported less than 100 deaths.

India recorded 30,093 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the Health Ministry on Tuesday morning, July 20, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 3,11,74,322. The death toll from the deadly virus has risen to 4,14,482 after 374 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, the lowest in four months.