CHENNAI: DMK president
M K Stalin on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra
Modi to lift restrictions on states in procuring
drugs to fight
Covid-19. He also urged the PM to increase supply of vaccines to Tamil Nadu and decide swiftly on universal vaccination.
Stalin wrote a letter to the PM which was also signed by all the DMK MPs from Tamil Nadu.
Stalin said the people of Tamil Nadu were in dire need of vaccines to combat the spread of infection and to break the cycle. “Though the bureaucrats are taking necessary preventive measures, it has led to a situation where even the advocate general of Tamil Nadu admitted before the high court that the situation is completely going out of control.”
As the Government of India is yet to take a policy decision on universal vaccination, only priority sections are getting access to the vaccination now.
“With these kind of restrictions on vaccination drive, it is highly impossible to vaccinate even the needy people as prioritised by the Centre,” he said.
In Tamil Nadu, only 46.7 lakh people have been vaccinated including 6.05 lakh, who received the second dose. The state government had demanded 20 lakh vaccines from the Centre, Stalin said.
He requested Modi to intervene immediately and direct the concerned ministry to supply more number of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines to Tamil Nadu in line with the population of the state, besides immediately sending 20 lakh vaccines as requisitioned by the state government.
Stalin also stressed the need for the Centre to allow the states for independent procurement of drugs, vaccines and medical equipment as the pandemic-affected states could not wait every time for the Centre’s nod for each and everything to save human lives. “It is reasonable to expect that the Centre plays an active role in sharing of international expertise and facilitating inter-state coordination and leave the states to deal with the pandemic independently.”
“Hence, I request you to lift all the restrictions imposed on the states for direct procurements and take all efforts to strengthen the
State Disaster Management Authority in the true spirit of cooperative federalism,” Stalin said.
He also appealed to Modi to take a policy decision swiftly for “universal vaccination” and help Tamil Nadu to tide over the present Covid-19 pandemic situation.