Govt should be complimented for its efforts to deal with

Congress member Karti Chidambaram complimented the Union government for its efforts to tackle coronavirus, and said that one should not "play politics" over the issue.

His comments in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour came against the backdrop of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi repeatedly attacking the Modi government over its handling of the health scare and accusing it of not taking adequate measures.

Chidambaram, the son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, said the government should be complimented for its efforts.

He then spoke about complaints that people, being quarantined over coronavirus suspicion, have been kept in "substandard" facilities under "unhygienic" conditions.

He said many of these people, most of whom were quarantined following their return from abroad, have the wherewithal for self-isolation and should be allowed to do so.

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 126 on Tuesday.