With a brutal second wave of Covid infections engulfing the country, including West Bengal, and a vaccine-pricing war brewing with non-BJP-led state governments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cancelled all his rallies, scheduled tomorrow, in poll-bound West Bengal.
Modi was supposed to address four rallies - with crowds being restricted to 500 - in West Bengal, the last being in the state capital of Kolkata. This reportedly was his last campaign schedule in the poll-bound state.
Kolkata incidentally is the worst hit Covid district of the state, adding more than 2,500 fresh Covid infections daily.
In a tweet, PM Narendra Modi said, he would he chairing a high level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in the country because of which rallies in West Bengal stand cancelled.
“Tomorrow, will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing Covid-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal,” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.
The BJP had already clubbed four rallies of the Prime Minister - scheduled on April 22 and April 24 - into a single one on April 23 in backdrop of the increased infections.
However, over the last few days, a Twitter war erupted as to whether there was a need to hold so many rallies in a state where hospital beds and other resources are stretched because of the pandemic.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed she will hold just one rally in the city on November 26 (she has done 4 previously) and curtail her campaigning/speech time in districts to 30 minutes. She has however not said anything on crowd curtailment or reducing campaigns or going digital.
Six phases, the last being held on April 22, of polling has already been completed; with two more phases being expected on April 26 and April 29.
Voter turnout in Phase VI - where 43 constituencies in districts of North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Uttar Dinajpur and Purba Bardhaman went to polls - was over 70 per cent till 5 pm, say sources.
Polls remained “largely peaceful” except stray incidents of violence being reported from areas of North 24 Parganas, which saw clashes between the Trinamool and BJP, crude bombs being hurled, allegations of riggings and harassment of candidates.
Fight over vaccine pricing
Meanwhile, there was a strong disagreement between the Centre and Opposition-ruled states over the pricing of Covishield vaccines by the Serum Institute of India (SII). SIl has priced vaccines at ₹400 for state governments and at Rs 600 for retail.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed her reservations on the Covishield pricing. And on Thursday she wrote to the Prime Minister claiming that the current policy of opening-up of vaccines, is “anti-people” and “highly discriminatory”. She alleges that the policy appears to “have a bias in favour of the market against the interest of the common people”.
Banerjee has questioned as to why state governments will have to procure the vaccine at an increased cost of 167 per cent than the Centre (which paid ₹150 per dose, without the additional transport charge of ₹100).
Such “high rates” the Chief Minister said were “anti federal and anti people” and such differentiation (in prices) was “never heard of in Indian history”.
“.....there is no place for making business by the vaccine manufacturers”, she wrote adding that charging ₹600 for vaccine in private hospitals was “discriminatory” and “unhealthy”; and is “likely to trigger unscrupulous mechanisms in the market”.
Banerjee instead has called for “free vaccination for all” irrespective of who pays (Centre or States).