Prakash Javadekar’s exit as the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and the chief spokesperson for the government comes at a time when its handling of the second Covid-19 wave has come under intense scrutiny and drawn flak from the Opposition.
If the start of the lockdown last year following the outbreak of the pandemic led to the migrant crisis, the deadly second Covid-19 wave this March-April saw hospitals running short of medical oxygen and beds, and ships and aircraft being sent out to bring home oxygen supplies – images which accentuated the lack of preparedness.
With questions being raised and the government’s handling of the second wave coming under scrutiny, it fell on the I&B Ministry to blunt criticism, including in the international media, though it had no role in dealing with the situation on the ground.