'Confusion' within central government in fight against COVID-19: Cong

The Congress on Saturday said there was "confusion" within the central government in its fight against the novel coronavirus and wondered how would India tackle the pandemic if officials continued to speak in different voices. Referring to "differing" comments made by some officials on the COVID-19 situation in the country, Congress senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said the government should tell the people clearly about the exact state of the pandemic to enable them to prepare accordingly.

He also came down heavily on the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi and asked it to be more transparent in reporting cases of the novel coronavirus. His comments came as confusion prevailed over the number of deaths due to the coronavirus in the national capital, with data from four hospitals showing that 92 people succumbed to the infection as against 68 fatalities reported by the Delhi government.

He said it was a "matter of shame" that the national capital was witnessing "a sorry state of affairs" in the fight against the pandemic. The Congress leader said there should be more coordination between states and the central government.

He also called upon the central government to spell out a clear lockdown-exit policy.