'This Is On You': Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi Slams Modi Gov't Over Oxygen Crisis, COVID Deaths

Over the last three weeks, India has been grappling with an exponential rise in COVID cases, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been facing blistering criticism over the federal government’s handling of the pandemic and holding of election rallies despite the ongoing health emergency.

Amid the rising coronavirus cases, Rahul Gandhi, a key leader of India's main opposition party Congress, on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's central government over the shortage of oxygen and lack of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in the country.

Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said that the virus can lead to a dip in the oxygen levels of a patient but it was the shortage of oxygen supplies and the lack of ICU beds in hospitals that were the true reasons behind the rise in virus-related deaths.

Corona can cause a fall in oxygen level but it’s #OxygenShortage & lack of ICU beds which is causing many deaths.

GOI, this is on you.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 23, 2021

Gandhi's statement came hours after India reported a new daily high of 2,263 deaths due to Covid while registering world's highest single-day spike, with 332,730 new cases in the last 24 hours.

In the last few days, several hospitals across the country have been rocked by shortages, as oxygen, beds and medicine have been scarce amid a rising new tide of Covid cases.

Political leaders have slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for its pandemic management, while several states have been bickering with the central government over the supply of vaccines and medicines.