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War of words over Covid-19 'vaccine shortage' in Maharashtra: Who said what
Maharashtra which is at the top of the list of states worst hit by the viral disease, has a total of 3,173,261 total cases and the death toll stands at 56,652.
In the backdrop of rising Covid-19 cases in the country, Maharashtra health minister Rakesh Tope said that the state may run out of vaccines within days. It started a war of words between the state government and the Centre which claimed that Maharashtra has enough stock. The Maharashtra government, however, alleged that the Centre is discriminating in vaccine supply and giving enough support.
Maharashtra which is at the top of the list of states worst hit by the viral disease, has a total of 3,173,261 total cases and the death toll stands at 56,652. According to the state health department, Maharashtra requires 1.6 crore vaccine dosages per month and 40 lakh every week to vaccinate residents of the state.
Here is who said what on the row:
Maharashtra government
State health minister Rakesh Tope said, "Satara, Sangli, Panvel have stopped vaccination today while Buldhana has only today's vaccine stock left," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
Citing numbers from the Centre's latest release order of vaccines, Tope also said, "Maharashtra has been given 7.5 lakh vaccine dosages only. While Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana etc have been given far more vaccines than Maharashtra."
During the row, Tope also announced that the Centre did increase the supply from 7 lakhs to 17 lakhs. However, it is still "less because we need 40 lakh vaccine doses a week and 17 lakh doses are not enough," he also said.
Centre's response
"I want to make it clear that the Maharashtra government has 23 lakh doses of the vaccines with it...which is a stock for five to six days. Now, to distribute in villages and districts is the responsibility of the state government," Union minister Prakash Javadekar said, according to the ANI report.
He also alleged that the Maharashtra government has "wasted five lakh doses of the vaccines, and it is not a small number, due to its lack of planning. The planning for carrying out a vaccination drive is the responsibility of the state government," ANI reported.
Health team
A central team visited the BKC Covid Vaccination centre in Mumbai to assess the current situation in the city. After the visit, Kunal Kumar, a member of the Central health team, said, "The Centre and State are discussing the issue (vaccine) and we will work as per their decisions. We are doing our best to manage the Covid situation in Maharashtra. Centre, State, and community need to work together to win this fight," ANI reported Kumar as saying.
Maharashtra Congress chief
Taking shots at the Centre, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said, "Today, our country is providing free vaccines to Pakistan but for Maharashtra, they are doing politics over it. BJP’s state and central leaders are targeting Maharashtra and they surely will face the consequences," as per ANI report.
NCP Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar whose party Nationalist Congress is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra assured that the Centre is cooperating with the state government in its fight against the pandemic. "We all have to come together and fight this menace. State and centre both have to come together and find out a way to fight the pandemic," he also said, according to the news agency.
