Chidambaram targets govt over vaccination plan

Senior Congress chief P Chidambaram on Sunday hit out on the BJP authorities over its Covid-19 vaccination technique, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name to chief ministers to organise a “tika utsav” is nothing however “rhetoric and hyperbole” to cowl up the best way the Centre has “messed up” administration of the manufacturing and provide sides of the vaccines.
With a number of states reporting vaccine shortages, the Congress has been aggressively questioning the Central authorities’s inoculation technique. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had Saturday argued that the federal government has mismanaged the scenario, exported vaccines and allowed a scarcity to be created in India.
“What does one say when the government wants to call the vaccination drive an ‘utsav’? By no stretch of imagination can it be a festival. The vaccination drive is a crusade. Having messed up the management of the production and supply sides of the vaccines, the government is covering up its massive failure through rhetoric and hyperbole,” Chidambaram tweeted.

Chidambaram reiterated the Congress’s demand for common vaccination. Senior Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had final week written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to position a direct moratorium on export of vaccines, quick observe approval of different vaccines and open up vaccination to everybody who wants it.
Chidambaram mentioned the vaccination drive should be a “walk in programme” and never carried out via pre-registrations.
“We were the first to demand universal vaccination and get rid of the silly app and the need for pre-registration. Vaccination must be a walk-in programme. Government must immediately provide funds to ramp up production in India and increase supplies. Government must also authorise the use of more approved vaccines and allow their manufacture or import,” Chidambaram mentioned.

He additionally questioned the technique of permitting solely two vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin. “We have a duopoly of two vaccines, but they are hardly sufficient to vaccinate a nation of 138 crore people,” Chidambaram posted.