“Gujarat Model Exposed”: Rahul Gandhi’s Attack On COVID-19 Mortality Rate

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, in his tweet today targeting the ruling BJP, said the “Gujarat Model” has been exposed with the state recording the highest rate of coronavirus deaths in the country, almost double the national average. The Congress leader, who has targeted the government in almost daily posts over its handling of the virus crisis, had yesterday quoted Einstein to say: “The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance”.

“Covid19 mortality rate: Gujarat: 6.25% Maharashtra: 3.73% Rajasthan: 2.32% Punjab: 2.17% Puducherry: 1.98% Jharkhand: 0.5% Chhattisgarh: 0.35% Gujarat Model exposed,” posted Mr Gandhi, sharing a BBC report analyzing the high rate of deaths in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

Gujarat is the fourth worst hit state in India’s coronavirus battle after Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi but its mortality rate, or the proportion of COVID-19 patients who have died, is the highest, more than double the national average of 2.86 per cent.

Over the past month, Gujarat has recorded an average of 400 new coronavirus cases every day.

The state has 24,104 coronavirus cases and the number of deaths has crossed 1,500, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has denied rumours of a return to strict lockdown amid spiraling cases.

More than 75 per cent of the cases in Gujarat are from Ahmedabad, its largest city.

In May, the Gujarat High Court called the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, one of the largest in the country handling COVID-19 cases, a “dungeon”.

“As we said earlier that the Civil Hospital is meant to treat the patients. However, it appears that as on date, it is as good as dungeon. May be even worse than a dungeon. Unfortunately, the poor and helpless patients have no option,” the High Court had said.

The opposition Congress has been focusing on the high incidence of virus cases in Gujarat, the state PM Modi ruled for 13 years before he came to power at the centre in 2014. One of the campaign points of the BJP at the time was the success of the “Gujarat Model of governance” and how it would be replicated at the centre. The phrase has since been used by the opposition to mock the BJP.