As many states face a huge resurge of Covid-19 cases, Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi, MP, Rajya Sabha, and national spokesperson, BJP, has said the government is better equipped to handle the second wave compared to the first wave. He has advised people not to let the guard down and stick to Covid-appropriate behaviour.    

“The government is well equipped, aware and keeping a strict vigil over the situation. It is working to stop the spread of infection,” he said.

“Due to a long period of Covid-19, there is a fatigue factor among people and they are becoming careless. Strict protocol needs to be followed along with Covid-appropriate behaviour as was being done six months back,” cautioned Trivedi  adding that people must continue wearing a mask in public, sanitising hands and keeping social distance as any infected person can be a source of danger to people around them.

He was speaking to Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now, on Friday as part of the Visionary Talk series organised by the public policy and governance analysis platform.

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The BJP leader said that at the start of the lockdown last year there were many apprehensions and questions. India did not have any manufacturing facility for PPE kits and there was only a single testing lab. As compared to the rest of the world, India had a very weak and fragile health infrastructure in most parts of the country, but the scenario since the start of the lockdown has changed. Under the able leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi, India now has one of the best healthcare systems which has also earned praise from WHO.

He added that India is one of the foremost nations to develop not one but two vaccines. “So far 5 crore people have been vaccinated in India and the country has even supplied vaccine to 72 countries,” said Trivedi.

While speaking on the current political turmoil in Maharashtra, Trivedi said it is a political, constitutional and an administrative issue. “If DGP Param Bir Singh has made an allegation against the home minister there can be only two options: If they think the DGP is correct, they must ask the HM to resign; if they say there is no reason for the HM to resign then they should take action against the DGP. But they are doing nothing. This means either they cannot leave NCP or there is a fear of consequences that may happen if Param Bir opens his mouth. The happenings… in Maharashtra are a unique constitutional, political, and technical issue... this is reflective of the lowest level of the government.”

Trivedi said that earlier when the Congress-NCP alliance was in power in Maharashtra and there were allegations of corruption against Ajit Pawar in the irrigation scam, he had to resign. “I don’t think [home minister] Anil Deshmukh’s stature is taller than of [that of]Ajit Pawar and neither is he more close to Sharad Pawar-ji as compared to Ajit Pawar. The question is why NCP is taking a different stand on Anil Deshmukh this time round as compared to its stand on Ajit Pawar earlier,” he asked.  

Trivedi also spoke on the upcoming state elections. He criticised the Congress for double-speak and said that today the party has an alliance with Muslim League, Indian Secular Front and even with Shiv Sena. He said in Kerala Congress and the Left are fighting against each other but in West Bengal they are allies. In Delhi, Congress and Left leaders are friends on the issue of farmers.

In West Bengal he said BJP wants to restore its lost glory. During Independence, 30% of India’s industry was in the state but today the state also lags behind not just Mumbai and Chennai, but also Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and even Gurugram.

In Kerala, he said where the BJP presence is insignificant, with ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan and many retired IAS officers contesting for the party, BJP will have a substantive and effective presence in the state. In the Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation, he said, BJP is the biggest party. In Tamil Nadu, BJP is a junior partner with AIADMK and hoped that AIADMK will make a comeback there.

Secondly, he said, despite its rich culture Bengal has seen many political murders and BJP wants to restore the lost glory of the state. Thirdly, he said India’s national songs ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jan Gana Mana’ also come from Bengal. In all three aspects, there will be a paradigm shift.