Rahul Gandhi seeks fair compensation for families of Covid victims

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday called for fair compensation for families of COVID-19 victims and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "why are you denying them their right?"

Rahul Gandhi on Friday interacted with family members of some coronavirus patients who died due to oxygen shortage, at Gundlupet in Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Sharing a video from that interaction, the former Congress chief on Saturday tweeted, "Prime Minister, do listen to Pratiksha, who lost her father due to BJP govt's COVID mismanagement."

She pleads for government support to pursue her education and meet her family's needs, Rahul Gandhi said.

"Don't families of COVID victims deserve fair compensation? Why are you denying them their right," he asked.

According to a statement issued by the Congress, during an interaction with Rahul Gandhi, the family members of the victims, expressed their anger against the BJP government that it did not even acknowledge the deaths of their loved ones.

"Words of small girl child Pratiksha, made everyone teary eyed in the hall. She was stating the apathy witnessed by her mother, who is jobless after the death of her father," the statement said.

"The official government number still stands at three. People have been reduced to numbers in the New India," the statement said.

The family members also expressed their gratitude to Karnataka Congress and its leaders, which connected with them immediately after the tragic incident and provided Rs 1 lakh compensation to each family from Congress' COVID Fund.

The party's Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka in Chamarajanagar district from Gudalur in Tamil Nadu on Friday.

In the next 21 days, the yatra would cover 511 kilometres passing through various districts in Karnataka.