BJP’s Lethal Lie:

2 MILLION UNCOUNTED COVID DEATHS REVEAL GOVERNANCE COLLAPSE

New Delhi, 9th May 2025: The Social Democratic Party of India expresses profound concern and outrage over the recently released government data confirming a massive undercount of COVID-19 deaths in 2021, revealing approximately 2 million excess deaths against an official toll of 330,000. This shocking discrepancy, over six times the reported figure, exposes a grave failure of governance, transparency, and accountability under the BJP-led Union government and its state administrations. SDPI condemns this betrayal of public trust and demand immediate action to address the systemic failures that concealed the true scale of the tragedy.

The data, released on May 7, 2025, by the Office of the Registrar General of India, paints a damning picture of underreporting, particularly in BJP-ruled states. Gujarat, a BJP stronghold, reported the highest undercount, with excess deaths 33 times the official COVID-19 toll, translating to approximately 200,000 unacknowledged deaths. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, also governed by the BJP, similarly exhibited significant discrepancies, with images of bodies along the Ganga River and overwhelmed crematoriums underscoring the unreported toll. These states, aligned with the Union government’s narrative of a controlled pandemic, appear to have suppressed data to project competence, prioritizing political image over human lives.

In stark contrast, non-BJP-ruled states demonstrated greater transparency and efficiency. Kerala reported the lowest undercount. States like Maharashtra and Delhi, governed by non-BJP coalitions, also showed lower discrepancies, reflecting a commitment to accountability. These examples highlight the critical role of decentralized governance and proactive health measures, which BJP-ruled states and the Union government failed to emulate.

The BJP-led Union government bears primary responsibility for this crisis. The centralized imposition of lockdowns under the Disaster Management Act sidelined state autonomy, leading to uncoordinated responses and inadequate resource allocation. The deliberate delay in releasing 2021 data until 2025, coupled with a media strategy that downplayed the crisis, suggests an attempt to evade accountability. This undercount denied millions of families access to compensation, saving the government an estimated ₹10,000 crore, while marginalized communities bore the brunt of unacknowledged losses.

Yasmin Farooqui

National General Secretary

Social Democratic Party of India,