Imphal: Congress Legislature Party members led by O. Ibobi Singh, MLA submitted a memorandum on ‘Guaranteeing one crore vaccination a day & to ensure universal free vaccination for every citizen of India’ to Governor Dr. Najma Heptulla here Friday.
The memorandum stated that Covid 19 has caused unprecedented devastation and immeasurable pain to nearly every Indian family. The need of the hour is that the Union govt procure the vaccine and supply for free to the States and private hospitals for vaccination for all citizens.
The only way to save the people is to vaccinate our entire adult population above 18 years on or before 31 December 2021. Then only each Indian can emerge victorious over COVID-19, it added.
Ibobi said as directed by the All India Congress Committee and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the Congress delegation discussed with the Governor the need of having free and universal vaccination of all in the nation to combat the second wave of the Covid pandemic. It was also urged to proactively fight the third wave which is expected anytime now.
O. Ibobi Singh said the meeting was apolitical and the focus was on the need to have a time-bound aggressive mass vaccination programme.
He said random testing should be done and stated that the state the government had no clear cut policy on providing any compensation ranging from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs to the doctors, para-medical staff and frontline Covid warriors and police personnel who passed away fighting against the Covid pandemic. He said Rs 4 lakh compensation was not acceptable.
Ibobi Singh questioned the rationale behind the delay in providing the second dose in the state while the Prime Minister took the second dose within a gap of one month. A memorandum signed by O. Ibobi Singh, Congress President, K. Govindas, AICC member Gaikhangam and K Meghachandra MLA was handed over to the Governor.
It was stated in the memorandum that the Modi Govt. has completely abdicated its duty of fighting the Corona and abandoned the people, leaving them to fend for themselves. The truth is that the Union BJP Govt. is guilty of criminal mismanagement of Covid-19 it was stated.
Modi government’s vaccination strategy has been a dangerous cocktail of blunders and bloopers, it was stated.
It added, “Our Government derelict its duty to ‘plan vaccination’. Our Government has been reprehensibly oblivious to ‘procurement of vaccines. Our Government has deliberately created a ‘digital divide’ thereby slowing down vaccination. Our Government has been willfully complicit in creating ‘multiple pricing slabs’ i.e. differential pricing, for the same vaccine.”
As other countries started placing purchase orders for vaccines from May 2020, the Modi Government failed India. It went on to place its first order of vaccines only in January 2021 it was stated. As per publicly available information, Modi Government and State Governments have to date ordered only 39 crore vaccine doses for a total population of 140 crores and 21.31 crore vaccine doses were given till 31st May 2021. But, only 4.45 crore Indians have received both doses of vaccine, which is only 3.17% of India’s population.
In the last 134 days, the average pace of vaccination is about 16 lakh vaccine doses per day. At this pace, it will take over three years for us to vaccinate our adult population, it said. If this is the case, how will we save our fellow citizens from the third wave of Corona it was stated.
It was stated that as our citizens are getting infected from Corona in the middle of the raging pandemic, Modi Govt. is a busy exporting vaccine. So far Union BJP Govt. has exported 6.63 crore vaccine doses to other countries which is the biggest disservice to the Nation it was stated.
The multiple pricing slab for the vaccine fixed by the Modi Govt is another instance of profiteering from people’s misery. Serum Institute’s Covishield single dose costs Rs.150 to Modi Government, Rs 300 to State Governments and Rs.600 to private hospitals. Bharat
Biotech’s Covaxin single dose costs Rs.150 to Modi Government, Rs 600 to State Governments and Rs. 1,200 to private hospitals. The private hospitals are even charging up to Rs.1,500 for a single dose it was stated. The Modi Government’s sponsored three price slabs for the same vaccine are a recipe for profiteering out of people’s misery, it was stated.
The government should procure the vaccine and supply it to the states free of cost, it was added. The former Chief Minister of Manipur O Ibobi Singh was accompanied by Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee President K. Govindas, AICC CWC Regular Member Gaikhangam and MLA K. Meghachandra.
The CLP leader was accompanied by MLA & CWC member Gaikhangam, MLA & President, MPCC Govindas Konthoujam and MLA & General Secretary MPCC K. Meghachandra Singh.
