COVID-19: Owaisi targets Centre over official death toll, raises question over Covaxin, Coronil

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 15 (ANI): Alleging that India's death toll due to COVID is 'five to six' times more than the official data, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that the Central government has "no touch with the reality".
Speaking to the media on Monday, Owaisi cited a news article published in a leading international magazine about India's mortality figures due to COVID-19, and said, "The article of that magazine is very true. The death toll due to COVID is five to six times more than that of the officially projected data by the Government of India."
Notably, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday refuted the claims made in the article of a renowned international magazine that has "speculated that India has suffered perhaps five to seven times "excess deaths" than the official number of COVID-19 fatalities".
"It is a speculative article, which is without any basis and seems to be misinformed. The unsound analysis of the said article is based on extrapolation of data without any epidemiological evidence," the Ministry had said.
Owaisi questioned the Ministry's claim of the article being speculative and said, "If the published model is speculative, then why has the Central government started administering COVAXIN to the people when there is no reviewed scientific data? Why has the Ayush Ministry given certification to Coronil? Does the ministry hold any effective data regarding Coronil?"
The AIMIM chief further claimed that no state in the country is following the guidelines issued by the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) about the reporting of COVID-19 toll and releasing district-wise data.
"When the High Court of Bihar questioned the state government over the death, the government overnight rectified the data and declared that there had been around 3,000 deaths," he stated.
He further claimed that "all epidemiological models and experts" are saying that the deaths are five to six times more than the officially projected data.
"The Modi Government is trying to hide the truth by saying that such a huge number of deaths has not taken place in the country due to COVID. They have no touch with reality," he added.
When asked why the ruling party is still popular among the masses, he said, "How can BJP be claimed to be a strong party when dead bodies are being found floating in Ganga? When their own alliance party fought against them in Bihar and when the Akali Dal also left them? If BJP thinks that they are becoming stronger over the deaths of people then what is good in it?" (ANI)