Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday entreated Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide free education to children who had lost both parents or the earning guardian to Covid-19.

Sonia wrote to the Prime Minister: “Amidst the devastation caused by the pandemic and the heart-wrenching tragedies being faced by affected families, news of young children losing one or both parents to Covid-19 are the most poignant. These children are left with the trauma of loss and no support towards a stable education or future.

“As you are aware, one of my husband Rajiv Gandhi’s most significant legacies is the network of Navodaya Vidyalayas. It was his dream to make high-quality modern education accessible and affordable to talented youth, predominantly from rural areas.”

Sonia added: “There are now, as you know, 661 such schools across the country.

“I am writing to request you to consider providing free education at the Navodaya Vidyalayas to children who have lost either both parents or an earning parent on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. I feel that as a nation, we owe it to them to give them hope for a robust future after the unimaginable tragedy that has befallen them.”

To implement any such policy effectively, the states will have to furnish accurate data on the deaths caused by Covid. There have been numerous reports from several states about official death figures not matching the numbers provided to the media by the overflowing hospitals and crematoriums. There have been reports, including some in the international media, on a massive undercounting of deaths.

In Uttar Pradesh, the government has so far agreed to give compensation to the families of only three teachers who died during panchayat poll duty, although teachers’ organisations have said at least 1,600 teachers and other staff have died from Covid.

Any policy or welfare measure will be rendered meaningless in the absence of a credible database, critics said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted Sonia’s letter, saying: “Children are amongst the worst hit by Covid trauma, many having lost their parents to the dreadful situation. The Congress president makes an important suggestion to safeguard their future and provide them free education at Navodaya Vidyalayas. It’s high time the government of India listened!”

Rahul attacked the government over the horrific sight of bodies buried on riverbanks or dumped into rivers, particularly the Ganga.

“Ganga ma ki ret se dikhta har shav ka kapda kahta hai/ Ki usi ret mein sar dafnaye Modi system rahta hai (Everybody popping out of the sand of mother Ganga suggests that the Modi system has buried its head in the same sand),” Rahul tweeted.

The Congress has been attacking the government over its ostrich-like attitude amid the pandemic.

The Congress also expressed outrage at the slow vaccination process, asking the Centre to begin negotiations on war footing to procure vaccines from global manufacturers.

Party spokesperson Rajeev Shukla said: “Covid has spread into villages in over 25 states. A huge catastrophe is looming over the country as villages don’t have health infrastructure. Only vaccines could have protected the people.”

Shukla added: “India needs to vaccinate at least 90 lakh people daily. At the current rate, we won’t be able to secure our people for the next two years. We haven’t seen any effort by the central government to procure maximum vaccines from all over the world at the earliest.”

He wondered why the Centre and various state governments were hiding or manipulating data.