COVID-19: 'Pathetic PR drive by Kejriwal and his minions is lowest of low', says BJP

Amid the continuous surge in coronavirus infections in the national capital, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked Arvind Kejriwal saying the Delhi Chief Minister is carrying out a "pathetic PR drive" and the "Ad Mantri" will blame the Centre for the deteriorating condition of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city.

"Never wanted to indulge in politics at this time but this pathetic PR drive by Arvind Kejriwal and his minions is the lowest of low. I along with several others spend entire days calling left right and centre to arrange beds, oxygen etc because he didn't build a single hospital in six years," BJP MP Gautam Gambhir said in a tweet.

"I want to reiterate that this is the time to make sure that everyone gets treatment and we don't lose lives. Also, we all know, by the end our "Ad Mantri Kejriwal" will blame Centre!" he added.

BJP spokesperson and Industry Minister of Bihar Shahnawaz Hussain said, "What happened in two days? Now Kejriwal is saying the condition is very bad in Delhi. Kejriwal keeps on changing his statement every day. A few days back he said that a lot of beds are available and there is no need to worry about beds and hospitals in Delhi."

"The central government is working very hard to help all states of the country," he added.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said Delhi is facing an acute shortage of oxygen and alleged that instead of increasing supply, "our normal supply has been sharply reduced and Delhi's quota has been diverted to other states".

"Delhi facing acute shortage of oxygen. In view of sharply increasing cases, Delhi needs much more than the normal supply. Rather than increasing supply, our normal supply has been sharply reduced and Delhi's quota has been diverted to other states," he tweeted.

"Oxygen has become an emergency in Delhi," he added.

In a video address earlier in the day, he said that less than 100 ICU beds are left in Delhi and there's an oxygen shortage in the city. He said the positivity rate in Delhi increased from 24 per cent to 30 per cent in the last 24 hours.

The national capital has been witnessing an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases and registered its biggest-ever single-day spike of 25,462 coronavirus infections and 161 related deaths on Sunday.

( With inputs from ANI )