Congress leaders on Friday slammed the Government of India (GOI) over its vaccination policy, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi pitching for centralised purchase and decentralised distribution of vaccines.
In a series of tweets, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram pointed out the flip-flops by the Narendra Modi government on the issue of compulsory licensing to allow other manufacturers to produce the approved vaccines.
“GOI’s vaccine policy is compounding the problem. Vaccine purchase should be centralised and distribution decentralised. India cannot afford this,” Mr. Gandhi said on Twitter.
Mr. Chidambaram tweeted to ask if people can trust “this government to protect one’s life and livelihood”.
“We have heard of double-faced, but this government has three faces. Face 1: India joins South Africa and tells the world that IPR (patent rights) for Covid vaccines must be suspended. Face 2: On May 9, the government files an affidavit in the SC claiming that bringing vaccine patents under the statutory regime (that is compulsory licensing) will be “counter productive”. Face 3: On May 13, NITI Aayog member, Dr. V.K. Paul supports the manufacture of Covaxin by other private manufacturers (through compulsory licensing),” he said.
Central Vista project
In another set of tweets, the former Finance Minister targeted the Modi government over its continuance of the Central Vista project that includes constructing a new Parliament building apart from new homes for the Prime Minister and the Vice-President of India.
“Cost of vaccines to vaccinate all people over 18 years (about 102 crores) is ₹ 35,000 crore. Cost of Central Vista is ₹20,000 — may be more. Cost of one person’s vanity = 60 per cent of the value of lives of the adult population of India. This is ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas’,” tweeted Mr. Chidambaram.
