‘We are nowhere in the game’: Rahul Gandhi lashes out at Centre over Covid-19 testing kits

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Centre for what he said was a delay on the government’s part in the purchase of rapid testing kits for the novel coronavirus. He claimed that India’s testing was in the league of nations like Laos, Niger, and Honduras.

Taking to Twitter, Wayanad MP said, with just 149 tests per million Indians, we are now in the company of Laos (157), Niger (182) & Honduras (162). Mass testing is the key to fighting the virus. At present we are nowhere in the game.

“India delayed the purchase of testing kits & is now critically short of them. With just 149 tests per million Indians, we are now in the company of Laos (157), Niger (182) & Honduras (162). Mass testing is the key to fighting the virus. At present we are nowhere in the game,” Gandhi tweeted.

Gandhi’s remarks came after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had earlier on Monday said that the rapid testing kits, which were supposed to be in the country on April 5 and then April 10, will now reach by April 15.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also lent voice to the idea that more tests will give the real picture of coronavirus crisis in India. The Congress leader said she has requested Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to increase coronavirus testing in the state.

“I had written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in which I requested him to increase coronavirus testing in the state. Out of the deaths that took place in the state, the corona test reports of five persons came after their deaths. The testing system is still very bad in the state. It needs to be more organised. More tests will give us the correct picture,” she tweeted, roughly translated from Hindi.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has said that a total of 2,31,902 samples have been tested in the country so far and assured that India has sufficient number of RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction) kits.

“We yesterday mentioned that we have kits that could last for 6 weeks. We have received another instalment for RT-PCR kits which are far more sufficient in numbers, which would essentially mean that we would be able to cover ourselves for a long period of time,” said ICMR’s head scientist Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar said at the daily media briefing on COVID-19 situation.

He also mentioned that the government is ordering around 33 lakh kits more for RT-PCR and 37 lakh rapid kits, which are expected to come at any point in time.