Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have prevented India’s devastating Covid-19 crisis, critics say. He didn’t

5 min readMay 2, 2021

On April 17, ahead of a state election, a maskless Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasted to a sea of cheering supporters: “I’ve never ever seen such huge crowds at a rally.”

Now PlayingWhat Modi did in the…
Nepal India covid-19 spillover Kinkade pkg intl hnk vpx_00014721.png
Covid mutations from India may have crossed borders
screengrab india crematorium
Heartbreaking scenes in Delhi’s crematorium and hospital amid brutal second wave
coronavirus india oxygen hospitals narendra modi Coren newday intl ldn vpx_00002501.png
India’s coronavirus death toll could be far higher than reported
coronavirus italy vaccines Gallagher pkg intl ldn vpx _00000919.png
Officials realized something went wrong with Italy’s vaccine rollout

Drone images of mass cremations as India battles Covid-19
A member of the medical staff places a ventilation device on a Covid-19 patient, in a room of the pneumology unit of the AP-HP Cochin hospital, in Paris on March 18, 2021 as the number of people hospitalised with the Covid-19 is on the rise in the French capital. — From pneumology unit to the intensive care one, the Covid-19 is again overflowing Cochin hospital, where members of the medical staff are already thinking about a dark scenario. (Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
What does it mean when a healthcare system ‘collapses’?
screengrab india covid oxygen shortage
Patients die gasping for air as India shatters global daily Covid cases
screengrab thailand field hospital
Thailand’s Covid-19 surge dampens hopes for tourism reopening
Now Playing
What Modi did in the lead up to India’s catastrophic second wave
sarajevo coronavirus deaths mclean pkg vpx_00001921.png
Sarajevo faces losses amid Covid-19 not seen since Bosnian War
india coronavirus doctor intv ndwknd kiley vpx _00005816.png
CNN speaks to doctor on the front lines in India’s Covid-19 crisis

New coronavirus cases topping 300,000 for 9th day in a row in India
CNN's John Berman speaks with Dr. Farah Husain, head of a Covid-19 ICU unit at a hospital in India, about the country's coronavirus crisis.
‘Nothing short of an apocalypse’: Indian doctor on Covid crisis
screengrab Erlend Ness
He dreamed of climbing Mount Everest. But Covid-19 stopped him
Rana Ayyub, an Indian investigative journalist and Washington Post columnist, speaks with CNN's Brianna Keilar about the unfolding coronavirus crisis in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government's response.
This journalist’s tweets are disappearing. She explains why
Nepal India covid-19 spillover Kinkade pkg intl hnk vpx_00014721.png
Covid mutations from India may have crossed borders
screengrab india crematorium
Heartbreaking scenes in Delhi’s crematorium and hospital amid brutal second wave
coronavirus india oxygen hospitals narendra modi Coren newday intl ldn vpx_00002501.png
India’s coronavirus death toll could be far higher than reported
coronavirus italy vaccines Gallagher pkg intl ldn vpx _00000919.png
Officials realized something went wrong with Italy’s vaccine rollout

‘Nothing short of an apocalypse’: Indian doctor on Covid crisis
screengrab Erlend Ness
He dreamed of climbing Mount Everest. But Covid-19 stopped him
Rana Ayyub, an Indian investigative journalist and Washington Post columnist, speaks with CNN's Brianna Keilar about the unfolding coronavirus crisis in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government's response.
This journalist’s tweets are disappearing. She explains why
Nepal India covid-19 spillover Kinkade pkg intl hnk vpx_00014721.png
Covid mutations from India may have crossed borders
(CNN)On April 17, ahead of a state election, a maskless Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasted to a sea of cheering supporters: “I’ve never ever seen such huge crowds at a rally.”

His country was on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. That day, India recorded more than 261,000 new coronavirus cases — more than many countries have seen during the entire pandemic.
And it was only going to get worse. Each day since April 22, the country has reported more than 300,000 new cases — at times, up to half of the daily cases reported globally. The capital New Delhi is now running out of wood for cremations. Hospitals are full and lacking oxygen. Only 2% of the population has been fully vaccinated. Foreign leaders are now rushing to India’s aid.
While Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Narendra Taneja told CNN this week that responsibility for India’s second wave belonged “first and foremost” to the government, he maintained the crisis could not have been foreseen — despite countless countries being battered by second waves as new variants emerged globally.
Others in Modi’s orbit have argued state governments are to blame for not imposing regional lockdowns and mismanaging their health care systems. Last weekend, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said oxygen shortages at hospitals were a problem not of supply but distribution, which he claimed was the responsibility of state governments.
But many in India believe responsibility lies with Modi and his Hindu nationalist government, which not only didn’t prepare for a second wave but also encouraged mass gatherings at Hindu festivals and political rallies, including in a closely contested battleground state.
“The government has failed us all,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the general secretary of opposition party Indian National Congress, said in a statement this week. “Even those of us who oppose and fight them could not have foreseen a complete abdication of leadership and governance at a time as devastating as this.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have prevented India’s devastating Covid-19 crisis, critics say. He didn’t

Written by Moviengelid