Jaipur, May 27 (IANS): The BJPs Rajasthan unit chief Satish Poonia on Thursday accused the state government of distorting the Covid death numbers in Jodhpur, the home constituency of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, besides lamenting the "pathetic" healthcare facilities in the state.

Poonia also wondered if this is the same ‘Rajasthan model' that was praised by interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi.

Accusing the Ashok Gehlot government of hiding the real death figures in Jodhpur, Poonia said the claims made by the government have been proven false looking at the large crowds thronging the places from where death certificates are issued.

While the government said that only 618 people died of Covid in Jodhpur, the real figures are around 2,912 in 433 villages of the district, which reveal a huge discrepancy, Poonia claimed.

The BJP leader also said that the CM is deceiving the people in the name of distributing free medicines, when the reality is that people are facing acute shortage of drugs and besides being denied admission to hospitals under the Chiranjivi Yojana, an insurance scheme launched by state government for the residents of Rajasthan.

"Since the beginning, we have been demanding that CHCs and PHCs should be fully-equipped with medical resources to improve the health system in the state, but no attention has been paid to our requests. There is still time and the rural medical infrastructure can be improved by streamlining resources," Poonia said.

He also said that regular medicine supply should be ensured in the rural belt and private hospitals should be directed to treat the beneficiaries of Chiranjivi Yojana.