New Delhi, Congress' Karnataka unit President D.K. Shivakumar met his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Kamal Nath on Thursday and discussed the issue of "false statistics" being put out by BJP-ruled states on Covid deaths.

"The BJP governments in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are misleading people by putting out false facts and concealing information about deaths due to Covid infection," Shivakumar alleged.

"The governments are giving false figures. There is a huge difference between the number of deaths given by the government and the number of persons cremated at the crematoriums.

"It is unfortunate that we are forced to get the correct number of deaths due to Covid from burial grounds and crematoriums," he claimed.

Noting that Karnataka is seen as the IT hub of the world and also known for medical tourism, Shivakumar accused the BJP government of "having dented the image of the state at the global level by failing to manage Covid crisis in the state".

"Now, many countries have imposed restrictions on the movement of people from the state. If the BJP government managed the situation well, this would not have happened," he contended.

The two leaders also discussed how the Congress could reach out to the people in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh on this issue.