Rahul Gandhi calls Centre ‘cruel’ for refusing to pay Rs 4 lakh compensation for Covid-19 deaths

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday said it was “cruel” of the Narendra Modi government to refuse to pay Rs 4 lakh as compensation to families of those who died due to Covid-19.

“It is impossible to put a price to life – government compensation is only a small help but the Modi government is not ready to do that either,” Gandhi tweeted. “First the shortcomings in treatment during the Covid-19 pandemic, then false numbers and now this cruelty from the government.”

जीवन की क़ीमत लगाना असंभव है- सरकारी मुआवज़ा सिर्फ़ एक छोटी सी सहायता होती है लेकिन मोदी सरकार ये भी करने को तैयार नहीं।

कोविड महामारी में पहले इलाज की कमी, फिर झूठे आँकड़े और ऊपर से सरकार की क्रूरता! pic.twitter.com/ApSi5S7KAc

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 21, 2021

Gandhi’s comment came a day after the Centre told the Supreme Court it would not be possible to provide the compensation as finances of the state and central government are under severe strain. The Centre was responding to a petition seeking compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the family members of the citizens who died due to side effects of the infection or post-Covid complications, including mucormycosis or “black fungus”.

In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Union home ministry noted that any…

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