Former Minister and RSP leader Shibu Baby John has accused Kerala government of fudging the number of coronavirus cases in the state.
According to the reports, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader alleged that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government hid the details of RSP’s local secretary who had tested positive for coronavirus in Kollam. Baby John said that the Chief Minister during his daily press conference on Thursday did not reveal this particular case in Kollam.
Chief Minister lied in the press meet: RSP leader
The former minister alleged that even though a local RSP leader was under treatment in a hospital in Kollam district, the Chief Minister informed that there were no positive cases reported from Kollam. However, Shibu claimed that there are at least four positive cases in Kollam.
“I phoned the RSP leader who tested positive for the disease. His sample was collected for the test on April 28. It was on Wednesday night, his test results turned positive. But the officials did not report this case. Sources revealed that many districts, including Idukki, have been hiding the details of positive cases,” said John as he attacked the Kerala government for manipulating the data on coronavirus cases.
Further, Shibu Baby John added, “The RSP leader has an elderly father and bedridden aunt at home. His wife also was suffering and she lacks immunity. No health officials collected her to collect the samples. Sucha a lapse is not expected from a democratic government”.
Take action against officials who hid coronavirus cases: Shibu Baby John
The senior RSP leader demanded action against who have hidden the coronavirus cases from the Chief Minister. “If no action is taken against them, we won’t be convinced with the Chief Minister’s words,” added Shibu Baby John.
The RSP leader added that many other districts, including Idukki and Kottayam, have been underreporting the number of positive cases. The chief minister must make it clear that whether this under-reporting is part of a deliberate cover-up, he asked.
There have been serious allegations that the Kerala government was hiding the coronavirus cases.
Cover-up by Kerala government
The Kerala DGP Loknath Behera had exposed the cover-up of Kerala government by disclosing that around 284 Tablighis from Kerala who attended the Nizamuddin Markaz are still missing. Earlier, Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan had claimed that all the participants of the Tablighi Jamaat at the Nizamuddin Markaz from Kerala have been tracked and they were under observation in the state.
Even if the currently available numbers are to be believed, at least 284 Kerala Tablighis who had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat convention in Nizamuddin are missing. In Kerala, 496 people have been tested positive for the coronavirus and four people have succumbed to the deadly Chinese pandemic.