The Congress hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) once again on Tuesday over Union health minister Harsh Vardhan's letter to its senior leader and former prime minister Manmohan Singh in which he blamed opposition-ruled states of fuelling hesitancy among people against the Covid-19 vaccine. “The BJP, if mocking is your defense mechanism before accepting our suggestions, then mock away - we understand, fragile egos need protecting," the Congress tweeted. "We believe in constructive cooperation and we will continue to work for the safety of our people, no matter what you say," it added.
On Sunday, Singh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he offered his advice on the Covid-19 situation in the country. He also listed out five suggestions and urged the Centre to expand the vaccination drive to people beyond the age of 45. It is to be noted that the Centre has opened the vaccination drive to all above 18 years of age on Sunday. This will come into effect from May 1.
Singh also asked the Centre to place "enough" vaccine orders in advance and retain 10 per cent for distribution based on emergency needs. "Other than that, states should have a clear signal of likely availability so that they can plan their roll out," he wrote in the letter.
The letter triggered a sharp response from the Union health minister as he lashed out at the Congress leader and told Singh to ask his party workers to follow the same advice in their own respective states. "History will be kinder to you Dr Manmohan Singh ji if your offer of ‘constructive cooperation and valuable advice was followed by his party leaders as well. "It is saddening, Dr Singh, that while you very well understand the importance of vaccination as an important method of fighting the COVID-19 battle, people in responsible positions in your party as well as in the state governments formed by your party do not seem to share your view," Harsh Vardhan said.
{{/usCountry}}The letter triggered a sharp response from the Union health minister as he lashed out at the Congress leader and told Singh to ask his party workers to follow the same advice in their own respective states. "History will be kinder to you Dr Manmohan Singh ji if your offer of ‘constructive cooperation and valuable advice was followed by his party leaders as well. "It is saddening, Dr Singh, that while you very well understand the importance of vaccination as an important method of fighting the COVID-19 battle, people in responsible positions in your party as well as in the state governments formed by your party do not seem to share your view," Harsh Vardhan said.
{{/usCountry}}India has been reporting a frightening spike in Covid-19 cases over the past few weeks. For the last five consecutive days, the daily number of cases has surged to above 200,000 and it is still continuing on the upward trajectory. As of Tuesday morning, the country has 15,321,089 cases of the coronavirus disease as it added 259,170 fresh infections in the last 24-hours. Its death toll stands at 180,530.