Hundreds died due to lack of oxygen, says UP BJP MLA Shyam Prakash

A family member carries a Covid-19 patient to a free oxygen support centre being run by a Gurudwara, near New Delhi. File pic/AFP

A BJP MLA from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, has contradicted his own party's claim in Parliament that no one in India died due to shortage of oxygen during the second Covid-19 wave.

Commenting on a Facebook a post of journalist Anand Mishra, who had posted newspaper cuttings of letters of some MLAs in which the issue was raised, Shyam Prakash wrote, "You have told the truth, I agree with you, hundreds of people died in agony due to lack of oxygen. No one can see the pain of lakhs of families, including that of MLA Rajkumar Agarwal [who lost his son]." However, on Monday Prakash said he was not talking about UP.

Earlier, too, several BJP leaders had complained of mismanagement during the second wave, with even former Union minister Santosh Gangwar writing to the UP CM the shortage of empty oxygen cylinders and high prices of medical equipment in his Bareilly constituency.

Clash over vaccines

Five people, including a doctor, were injured when a clash broke out between two groups over who would get the jab first, in Sukhpura, police said on Tuesday. They threw chairs at each other. A case has been registered against five people and they have been arrested, police said.

Also read: Insult to those who are still grieving: Kin of Covid-19 victims ask govt to not rub salt on their wounds

Daily cases below 30K

India recorded less than 30,000 fresh Covid-19 cases after 132 days while its active caseload fell below 4,00,000 after 124 days on Tuesday, according to Union health ministry data updated on Tuesday morning. As many as 29,689 new infections, 415 deaths and 3,98,100 active cases were confirmed in a span of 24 hours.

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