AAP hits out at BJP for Covid-19 vaccine exports

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s national spokesperson Raghav Chadha on Monday criticised the Centre for exporting Covid-19 vaccines to other countries, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is “more concerned about it’s international image

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s national spokesperson Raghav Chadha on Monday criticised the Centre for exporting Covid-19 vaccines to other countries, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is “more concerned about it’s international image.”

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The BJP hit back, and accused the AAP of engaging in “petty politics over the pandemic”, asserting that India’s Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity exceeded the domestic requirements.

India so far has exported more than 64 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to 84 countries.

“Global goodwill for Narendra Modi is at the cost of the life and health of Indians. Our country has exported more doses of the Covid-19 vaccine than it has vaccinated its own citizens in the country. It appears that the BJP government is more concerned about its international image, rather than the health of Indians,” said Chadha in a press statement.

He further said, “Today, Covid-19 has once again reared its ugly head, and the one weapon we have this time is the vaccine, but the Centre is not focusing on inoculation, but on exporting this life-saving drug. India is not giving the vaccine ‘suraksha kavach’ to our citizens. The Centre is so caught up with the vaccine export drive, it’s exporting to even developed nations, such as the UK and USA, who have ample access to resources. The rate at which India is conducting its vaccination drive, it’ll take about 15 years to vaccinate the entire country.”

Dismissing Chadha’s criticism, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “The AAP is doing petty politics over the pandemic. They are trying to mislead people on a sensitive international issue.”

“Chadha and AAP leaders should know that India’s Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity is much higher than its local needs and exports are in no way hindering the process of vaccination of people in the country. The AAP should also know that India is the only country which has fought Covid-19 by developing its own resources including its medicine, hospital ventilator beds and now vaccine,” Kapoor added.