Free vaccines after Supreme Court’s rap: Congress
The Congress on Monday contended that the Narendra Modi authorities’s determination to offer free vaccines to all above 18 years of age was taken after the Supreme Court pulled it up and questioned its vaccine coverage.
“Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party leader Rahul Gandhi and several others have been writing to the government for providing free vaccines to every citizens of the country, but the government did not paid heed to its demands,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala mentioned.
“And the Narendra Modi government was brought into the dock by the Supreme Court and several other courts of the country. And today at least the government has accepted the demands of the Congress partially to vaccinate all above 18 years of age for free,” he added.
His remarks got here after Prime Minister Modi, in a televised handle to the nation, mentioned that each one Indians above 18 years of age might be administered free Covid-19 vaccine from June 21, and that the states might be supplied these vaccine doses freed from price from the Central authorities.
Launching an assault on the federal government, the Congress chief mentioned that by not shopping for vaccines from May 2020 to January 2021, and never permitting free vaccines to all until June 7 this 12 months, the federal government has dedicated a sin attributable to which lakhs of individuals misplaced their lives.
Surjewala mentioned that within the final six months the federal government has taken three completely different steps, after which the Supreme Court and several other different courts of the nation slammed the federal government over its “confused” vaccine coverage.
“Following the bashing from the courts and demands of the Congress and opposition parties, the government has decided to vaccinate all above 18 years of age for free at government hospitals from June 21. Can someone tell, why the government changed the vaccine policy thrice in last six months and played with the lives of lakhs of the people of the country,” he requested, including that should not the Prime Minister and the federal government be held accountable for the demise of lakhs of individuals and people who suffered with Covid.
Firing one other salvo on the authorities, Surjewala mentioned, “Till date, the government had been buying 50 per cent of the vaccines produced in the country and the only difference with today’s decision is that the government will now buy 75 per cent of the vaccines produced. While the government has made the arrangement of 25 per cent of the vaccines produced to the private sector. It means if you are a salaried person or a small businessman, then still the vaccine is not free for you.”
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