Addressing the journalists, Shri Randeep Singh Surjewala said that I welcome all of you to this special press conference of All India Congress Committee, being addressed today by Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji. I also welcome my colleague, Shri Rajeev Gowda ji, the head of our research department, who along with his colleagues, has formed a Comprehensive Report on Covid and its Mismanagement, on behalf of the All-India Congress Committee. How the life of Indians was put in danger has been explained in this report. We requested Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji to issue this report himself, because from day one, Rahul ji has raised this matter regarding the crisis of Corona in the country. Without any further delay, I request Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji to release a copy of this report, which we will send to you as well and then Rahul ji will speak regarding the mismanagement and future of Corona.

Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji thanked Randeep Ji and then greeted everyone by a Namaskar. He said that you all know the problem of Covid, the pain caused to the country where millions of people died. The whole country has been a witness to the havoc that Corona wreaked. We have prepared this white paper in a little detail and this white paper has two-three goals. Its aim is not to finger point. Its aim is not to highlight the shortcomings of the government. We are pointing out mistakes because we know that in the coming times, these mistakes will have to be corrected or rectified.

There are a few things - the whole country knows that before the second wave actually struck, our scientists, doctors had talked of the second wave. And the government neither acted nor behaved in the desirable manner. Due to this, the entire country had to bear the brunt of the second wave.

Today we are back to square one. The entire country knows that the third wave is around the corner. The virus is still mutating and changing form, and the third wave is inevitable and that’s why we are reiterating that the government should be fully prepared for the third wave. All the requirements like that of hospital beds, of infrastructure, of oxygen, of medicines, which were not met during the second wave, should absolutely be met in the third wave. So, this is our goal. Shri Rahul Gandhi said- The purpose of this white paper is to help the nation prepare for the third wave that is going to come. It is pretty clear that the management of the first wave and the management of the second wave was disastrous. There were some central reasons as to why it was disastrous; we have tried to point out those reasons in our white paper. This is a blueprint on how to react to the third wave. It is our intention to provide the government with information and insights on what went wrong. It is important that the government prepares itself for what is going to come. The central pillar of fighting Covid is vaccination. I will have comments to make when you ask me questions on vaccination strategy, but, it is very important that we aggressively do vaccinations and cross this bridge over 100% vaccination as soon as possible, because that is the only protection. So, I now welcome your questions.

Shri Surjewala added that Thank You Sir, before we take questions, we would like to hear from you here, very briefly, as to what lies in the future and what steps really the government of India needs to take to ameliorate the existing pain. Afterwards, we will take questions.

Shri Rahul Gandhi said- This white paper is a discussion that has taken place within the Congress structure, and we have had a discussion with the experts. We have basically developed 4 pillars. One pillar, of course, is the idea of understanding exactly what went wrong, which is the foundation of the white paper. Second pillar, as I have already said, is preparation for the third wave, which includes developing the critical infrastructure, which includes oxygen, which includes these other elements. Third Pillar, that we have been repeating time and again, is the idea of an economic assistance package. Covid is not just a biological phenomenon, it is also an economic and social phenomenon, and that is why we have to make sure that the poorest people, the weakest people, small and medium businesses are provided the support that they need to get through. The fourth and final element is a Covid Compensation Fund, where we give money to people who have lost loved ones, where we commit to them support of the Indian nation and say that- look, we stand with you in this difficult time. On a question that do you think that the Government has the wherewithal to sustain this current phase of vaccination that has started yesterday, considering that only 5% of adult population of the country has been vaccinated currently, leaving millions vulnerable to infections and deaths, some opposition states are starving for vaccines and second, it is a day of hectic political activity in the capital, many opposition leaders are meeting today, what is your reaction on that, Shri Rahul Gandhi said- on the political aspect, my intention here is to bring focus on Covid. My intention here is to point clearly in the direction of where we think the Government should act on Covid. So, I am not going to distract you or myself by getting into, you know, what is going on in the politics and what is going on here and there. There is a time and place to that discussion. I am happy to talk to you at that time. With regard to vaccination, vaccination is really the only answer that we have to Covid. It is the central pillar of our strategy. Yes, good work has happened yesterday, but this is not a series of events. This is a process and we have a humongous task in front of us. We will have to diligently do this task. We will have to make sure that this task is done. The government has to do that, and it has to make this process work, not just on one day, but every day, until we have vaccinated our whole population. I think, the idea of a mission, Covid Vaccination Mission is a good one, where we involve the country and say- Okay, as a nation we have to get this job done, this is what is required, these are the volunteers that need to be trained and we think about it as a mission. I think that is what my advice would be to the Government.

Shri Surjewala added that I will only take the liberty of adding one line, just for the knowledge of our friends here that we are very happy with the 80 lakh vaccinations per day, highest vaccination record in this county has been 17 crore vaccinations in a single day for pulse polio on February19, 2012. Of course, then the Prime Minister did not, Dr. Manmohan Singh did not put up his posters, that is the only marked distinction.

On a question that Opposition states have been starving for lack of vaccine, what is your reaction on that, Shri Rahul Gandhi said- The government must treat all states equally. This is a matter of life and death. The government must not view Indian states as BJP states v/s opposition states. All states must be viewed in the same light. All states must be provided with the same assistance, all states must be provided with the same quantity of vaccination that are required. So, it is very important that this bias does not come and there is a reason for it, because vaccination for 70% of the population or 50% of the population is not going to solve our problem, because the virus will mutate. So, we will have to vaccinate everybody as fast as possible, so that we reach a level of vaccination where the virus can no longer mutate. So, this idea that there are some BJP states and there are some Congress states, and we have to prove that BJP states are vaccinating better, which is embedded in the way the Government is acting, is not a good idea. It is a dangerous idea for the country.

On a question that in what way will you place this white paper in front of the government? Second, when you are saying that there should be a common strategy, so should the Prime Minister also call an All-Party meeting? Third, Congress is also being accused of spreading miscommunication regarding the vaccine, so what would you say? Shri Rahul Gandhi said that we had already said that if we have to fight Corona, then fighting has to be done in a decentralized manner. It is the Prime Minister’s place, the Chief Minister’s place, the DM’s place. It is the place of a citizen. Everyone will have to fulfill their responsibilities together. Only then will we be able to fight Covid. So, the goal of the white paper that we have is to highlight the mistakes that have happened in the last year, the mistakes that really did happen. Now that is a real input to the government. If the government will read the white paper and take the inputs, then the government will benefit. But my main point is that the Congress party has the information, the rest of the opposition, the experts, the doctors, the scientists have the information and understanding. Use it. Listen to the people. Dr. Manmohan Singh ji had given you suggestions on vaccination, which you made fun of. You got your minister attack on him and then two months later, you had to do what Dr. Manmohan Ji had originally asked you to do. You finally had to accept what we had been telling you to not do things in a centralized way.