Jharkhand Chief Minister Expressed his “Mann ki Baat” after PM Modi’s Covid Meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Chief Ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand about the COVID-19 situation in their states. He also spoke to Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir about the COVID situation in the two union territories.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s phone call to him on the COVID-19 situation in the country as the PM’s “Mann Ki Baat”, instead of business. It would have been better if he would have talked business and heard the issues.

Official sources said Mr Soren was unhappy as he was not allowed to present the issues concerning his state before PM Modi and instead, it was only the prime minister who talked about the COVID-19 situation.

Jharkhand is among the 10 states and Union territories that are collectively accounting for over 75 per cent of daily COVID-19 deaths in the country, according to latest data. The others in the league are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.

The mortality rate in the state remains higher at 1.28 per cent against the national mortality rate of 1.10 per cent. According to a bulletin issued by the state health department, the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients is 76.26 per cent in Jharkhand as against the national average of 82 per cent.

Mr Soren digitally inaugurated a 528-bed makeshift COVID-19 hospital at Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) on Thursday. Mr Soren said 108 more beds will be set up with the help of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), the country’s largest energy conglomerate.