Irregularities in purchase of Fateh kits: BJP, AAP accuse Captain govt of committing ₹8-cr fraud

Both the parties held conferences on Tuesday wherein they claimed that despite having received a lower bid, Congress purchased the kits at a hefty price

After it rolled back the vaccine stock meant for private hospitals following allegations of profiting, the ruling Congress regime is yet again under fire after the local units of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the government of committing an alleged fraud of ₹8 crore in the purchase of Fateh kits.

AAP district president (Urban) Suresh Goyal addressing media persons at party office in Ludhiana on Tuesday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Both the parties held separate conferences on Tuesday wherein they presented documents and claimed that despite having received a lower bid, the ruling party purchased the Fateh kits at a hefty price, which had caused a loss of ₹8 crore to the government exchequer.

BJP leader Anil Sareen and AAP district president Suresh Goyal stated that even though a medical store in Patiala had floated a tender offering to provide the kits at ₹837.76 per unit on April 1, the state government on April 3 issued a purchase order for the first lot of 50,000 Fateh kits at ₹940.80 per unit, the second lot of 50,000 kits at ₹1226.40 per unit and the third lot of 1.5 lakh kits at ₹1,338 per unit, respectively.

Suresh Goyal said that earlier the government had tried to fill its coffers by selling off the Covid vaccines to private hospitals at a premium and now its leaders had indulged in a scam during procurement of kits.

“Transfer of Neeraj Singla, director (finance), National Health Mission, Punjab, after the scam is proof that embezzlement had taken place,” said Goyal.

The government is already facing flak for purchasing vaccines for ₹400 per vial and selling it to private hospitals at ₹1,060 per unit.