Rahul Gandhi backs WHO report on Covid deaths in India, Says "science does not lie"

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently backed the WHO's mathematical model for assessing pandemic-related absolute excess mortality. The international health body had said India has 4.7 million excess Covid deaths, a claim the Indian government refuted.

Gandhi tweeted in support of WHO and said "science does not lie, Prime Minister Narendra Modi does". He added, "47 lakh Indians died due to the Covid pandemic, not 4.8 lakh as claimed by the government".

He said the government should respect and support the families that lost loved ones by giving them Rs 4 lakh compensation. A BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra told the media that Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly tried to lower the PM's image since 2014 and has lowered India's image in the process.

The WHO released the data generated by a mathematical model on Thursday. It showed there were 4.7 million excess Covid deaths that occurred in the country between January 2020 and December 2021, which is ten times higher than the official figures. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare questioned the fact that WHO collected the data in respect of seventeen Indian states from some websites and media reports.

India rejected the report and criticised the use of the mathematical model. The WHO's system of data collection was called statistically unsound and scientifically questionable by the Union Health Ministry. The statement further noted that the figure suggested by WHO is "totally removed from reality" as India has an "extremely robust" system of births and deaths registration.

The official statement criticised how the WHO released the excess mortality estimates without adequately addressing India's concerns despite expressive objections to the process, methodology, and outcome of this modelling exercise, reported ANI.

Dr NK Arora, chief of India's Covid Working Group told NDTV that India'sCivil Registration System (CRS) ensures that a majority of virus-related deaths are covered. He added that there may be a 10-20% discrepancy but the 'one size fits all" approach used by WHO is "worrisome".

NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul also rejected the WHO report saying the global body has ignored India's concerns with all humility through diplomatic channels. The CRS uses deaths certified and validated by the district and the state administration. India wanted WHO to use these numbers but "they have chosen to use numbers based on modelling and assumptions", said Paul.