India

Indian government issues rebuttal letter to Australian paper for criticising Modi for Covid ‘apocalypse’

The article which found accusations by the Indian government was originally published in The Times and was written by Phillip Sherwell, the Indian government accused the article to “undermine” their approach to the pandemic, which the government said had been “universally acclaimed”.

An article reproduced in The Australian newspaper on 25 April, 2021, portrayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a poor light, accusing him of “leading India” into a “viral apocalypse”.

The Australian posted a tweet on 25 April:

The article blames the surge in covid cases to factors like allowing thousands to attend election rallies, permitting the mega Kumbh, ignoring experts’ advice on more infectious strains, and a shortage of oxygen and vaccines.

Yesterday, the Indian High Commission issued a rebuttal letter to the article and slammed as a “baseless, malicious and slanderous, helping in spreading falsehoods” report. 

The Indian High Commission in Canberra said that the article sought to “undermine” the Modi government for its approach to the pandemic, which the government said had been “universally acclaimed”

The letter mentions “It is astonishing to see that your respected publication has chosen to reproduce a baseless malicious and slanderous article without bothering to check the facts of the case with any authorities in the Government of India,” said the rejoinder, signed by India’s Deputy High Commissioner, who claimed that last year’s lockdown, the ongoing vaccination drive, an upgradation in diagnostics and treatment facilities, as well as India’s Vaccine Maitri.”

“It appears that the report has been written only with the sole objective of undermining the universally acclaimed approach taken by the Government of India to fight against the deadly global pandemic, at this decisive moment,” it added.

Similar reports criticising the Modi government for the second wave were also seen in other western dailies such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Economist.

India had reported over 3.52 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases, 2,812 deaths and the highest single-day spike on Monday, taking the total caseload to 17,313,163, according to the health ministry.

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