Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra who has frequently criticised the Modi’s government’s policies, has now accused Modi of ‘blatantly lying’ about the pandemic in India. In a video for The New York Times, Kamra blamed Modi for mismanaging the crisis in the country and called it a ‘state-orchestrated massacre’.
The video begins with Kamra taking a jibe at the Centre: “Did you know India was the first country in the world to beat the coronavirus in January 2021. The video then features a clip of Modi’s speech in January where he says that India, by effectively controlling the coronavirus, has “saved mankind from tragedy.
“My name is Kunal Kamra. I’m a stand-up comedian from India, and this is where even I stop laughing. At our peak in May, we had 400,000 case per day and 4,000 deaths per day and experts say these figures are a gross underestimate. Even now, as the rest of the world reopens, we are still suffering,” Kamra said.
Kamra also criticised the government for organising the Kumbh Mela. He said: “In March, not only did the Modi government refuse to cancel the Kumbh Mela festival, but they actually promoted it.” He added that that it was a “gathering of millions and millions.”
“Most of these Hindus went to wash away their past sins but they should’ve stayed home and prayed for a better future,” he said.
He added: “Crematoriums were overflowing. Hundreds of bodies washed up in the Ganga River. These are suspected COVID deaths. Dead bodies found in the river, of people who couldn’t afford to get a dignified spot in a crematorium.”
Kamra also took a jibe at the unplanned vaccination drive in India. Modi ‘botched up’ up the vaccine rollout, he said. Kamra said: “We produced more than 60 million doses for other countries, but we didn’t make enough vaccines for ourselves. So, what’s our government doing about this tragedy?”
Asking what our government has been doing to deal with the tragedy, Kamra pointed out the ironic state of affairs. “Modi’s Ministry of Science and Technology commissioned research into how yoga and breathing exercises can help fight COVID. The government dropped flowers from helicopters on doctors, as a tribute. As a mark of respect. But if you die as a doctor treating a COVID patient, we’ve cancelled your life insurance,” he said.
Kamra said, “We live in an out-and-out lie,” adding, “but our government is a master of one domain, attacking its critics. Recently, at least two dozen people were arrested for putting up posters that criticised the government’s vaccine policy. The government even asked Twitter to block some of these tweets which were critical towards its COVID policies.” Further, he said, “the police is filing FIRs against doctors who posted social media pleas for oxygen.”