While lakhs of Indians lost their lives and their loved ones during the disastrous second wave of Covid-19 stuck the country during April-May, two months later, the government has started playing dirty politics over the tragic incident.

Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singh Deo has said that his state has a surplus of oxygen and no deaths were reported in the state due to oxygen shortage during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Deo made the remarks on Tuesday, after the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha that no deaths due to lack of oxygen has been specifically reported by states/Union territories.

“It is true that no patient died due to the lack of oxygen in Chhattisgarh. Our state is an oxygen-surplus state. There could have been some issues regarding management, otherwise, there is no death due to lack of oxygen,” Deo told media.

Apart from Deo, Tamil Nadu health secretary J Radhakrishna also said on Tuesday that the state government ensured adequate availability of oxygen in both government and private hospitals and there was no death due to lack of the life-saving gas.

Besides the common man scarred with the statement, the Centre’s comment on the lack of data on deaths due to oxygen shortage turned into a flashpoint between the BJP and the Congress on Tuesday.

Commenting on the issue, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “It wasn’t just the lack of oxygen. There was severe lack of sensitivity and truth — then and now.”

Union Minister Giriraj Singh was quick to respond, saying, “I would say about this prince: He lacked the brain then, he misses it now and he will miss it forever. These lists are compiled by the states. You can tell the states governed by your party to submit modified lists. Until then stop lying.”

Amid allegations about thousands of deaths in the second wave of the virus going unreported – triggered by the mass graves on the sandbanks of Ganga and the bodies floating down the river — the government has contended that states are in charge of registering and providing death figures.