Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has opened a new front to target the Narendra Modi government during the Winter Session of Parliament on the issue of deaths caused by Covid-19. Rahul Gandhi is likely to lead the Congress in Parliament in demanding compensation to each of the affected families.

Sources in the Congress said the party would renew its demand during the Winter Session for releasing “actual figures of people who died due to Covid” during the course of the pandemic in India. The party will also demand compensation for each family which lost their relatives due to Covid-19.

Rahul Gandhi, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, put out a video clip on Twitter saying, “The Congress party has two demands: 1. Correct figures of Covid deaths should be told, [and] 2. A compensation of Rs 4 lakh should be given to the families that have lost their loved ones to Covid.

“If you are in government, you have to take away the sufferings of peoplecompensation should be given.”

The video put out by Rahul Gandhi shows people affected by Covid-19 talking about their experience of dealing with the pandemic. Most of the people who figure in the video are from Gujarat.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Shakti Singh Gohil said, “Under NDMA [National Disaster Management Act], the government on March 14, 2020 notified commitment to provide Rs 4 lakh compensation [ex-gratia] to all Covid deaths but it was later reduced to Rs 50,000. We want that the entire amount of Rs 4 lakh as compensation should be given to victims’ family members. And, we will raise this matter in Parliament session.”

India reported first Covid-19 case on January 27, when a medical student returning from China’s Wuhan tested positive for the coronavirus infection. The first local cases were detected in early March.

The country recorded first death due to Covid-19 on March 12. As per Union health ministry’s website, India has recorded 4,66,584 deaths as of Wednesday (November 24) morning. It is about 1.35 per cent of over 3.45 crore Covid-19 cases in India.