Maharashtra, Centre trade barbs over oxygen supply, remdesivir

State minority affairs minister and NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said chief minister Thackeray tried to contact Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone to take up the shortage of oxygen and remdesivir but was told that the PM is on a Bengal tour.

After a face-off over shortage of vaccine doses, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government locked horns again on Saturday, this time over inadequate supply of medical oxygen and anti-viral drug remdesivir.

Later in the day, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray confirmed that he called the Prime Minister.(CMO) (HT_PRINT)

State minority affairs minister and NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said chief minister Thackeray tried to contact Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone to take up the shortage of oxygen and remdesivir but was told that the PM is on a Bengal tour. The Prime Minister’s Office refuted the allegations, saying that PM Modi himself reviewed the situation of oxygen supply on Friday and the Centre is in constant touch with state governments.

“There are queues outside the crematoriums; hospitals are struggling to save the lives of patients as there is a shortage of oxygen supply. Yesterday patients had to be shifted from a few BMC-run hospitals in Mumbai due to oxygen shortage. The Centre has created this chaos-like situation. The chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) was trying to contact PM Modi on the phone but was informed that the Prime Minister is on a Bengal tour,” Malik told reporters.

“Nero was playing flute when Rome was burning, a similar situation has been created today as people are dying and the Prime Minister is busy in elections…,” he said.

Later in the day, Thackeray confirmed that he called the Prime Minister. “We are in dire need of oxygen as the cases have surged. Currently, oxygen produced in the state is diverted for medical use...I wasn’t able to speak to the Prime Minister on this issue yesterday evening as he was busy with the elections in West Bengal. But we are getting all the assistance from the Centre,” a statement from the chief minister’s office quoted Thackeray as saying.

Malik alleged that the Centre has asked exporters not to give stock of remdesivir injections to Maharashtra, else they will have to face action. This is being done to create trouble for the state as it is being ruled by opposition parties Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, Malik claimed.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state by the pandemic. It has so far seen 3,770,707 cases and 59,970 deaths. (Hindustan Times)

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan spoke to the chief minister on phone and assured adequate and uninterrupted supply of oxygen, health care infrastructure and medicines. He shared the information on his Twitter handle.

Union railway minister Piyush Goyal said Thackeray was playing petty politics and should take responsibility for his failure in handling the pandemic.

“Saddened to see @OfficeOfUT’s gimmicks on oxygen. GoI, with all stakeholders, is ensuring maximum oxygen production in India...Maharashtra has so far received the highest quantity of Oxygen in India,” Goyal said in a series of tweets.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state by the pandemic. It has so far seen 3,770,707 cases and 59,970 deaths. On Saturday, Maharashtra recorded 67,123 new cases.