Extending his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for smoothly running the biggest COVID-19 inoculation drive in the world, Bharatiya Janata Party National Vice-President Dr Raman Singh welcomed the decision to raise the eligibility criteria for getting a vaccine against COVID-19 for everyone above the age of 18 years. While interacting with the media persons on Wednesday, the BJP National Vice President said that few questions are being raised regarding vaccination. Lashing out at former AICC President Rahul Gandhi, who had raised question whether the Centre is encouraging the private sector to jump into vaccine manufacturing, Dr Singh said that since last 40 years, it is the private sector which is manufacturing different vaccines in the country.

 

Even the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer is from the private sector. When the issue regarding manufacturing vaccines for COVID-19 infection arose, it was the private sector which came forward and today provided one of the cheapest vaccines in the world, which today is being exported to over 40 countries apart from being used in inoculation drive in the country. Dr Singh, however, welcomed State Government for announcing free inoculation drives for people over 18 years of age. Dr Singh said that the Congress is questioning whether the private sector is being encouraged in this field. He said that it is the private sector which carries out research and development and work for the betterment of the country, in fact they should be congratulated for their efforts. Another question is arising that the Prime Minister failed to maintain oxygen supply in the country.

 

Wherever, the State Governments have failed, has anyone taken the pains to ask the Chief Ministers of such states as to why they have failed in maintaining oxygen supply. Citing an example of Chhattisgarh, the former Chief Minister said the state has the country’s biggest oxygen plant in Bhilai Steel Plant despite which patients here are dying due to lack of oxygen supply. It is the matter of system failure and the reason behind this system failure is that the Chief Minister thinks in one way while the Health Minister thinks the other way and there is a lack of synergy between them. There is so much indifference that both of them cannot sit in one meeting. All party meeting was called in the absence of the Health Minister, then one can very well understand about the implementation of the work plan in the health sector. Instead of leveling baseless allegations Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi should give some better advice to their Chief Minister so that he can work in coordination.

 

There are ventilators in the state but there is no one to operate them. Dr Singh said he can name district hospitals where more than 10-12 ventilators are available there but its packing is yet to be opened due to shortage of technicians. In Rajnandgaon Medical College, ten ventilators have been supplied recently but there is no one to operate these machines. This is nothing but administrative failure on the part of state government. Dr Singh said that the situation in Chhattisgarh is very grim with over 181 deaths recorded in a single day, with over 15,000 new positive cases in a single day and over 6,200 people have died due to COVID-19 in State. People are running pillar to post for getting Remdesivir injection and other life saving drugs. The state government has Rs 400 crore collected as cess from liquor sales, funds from District Mineral Foundation, etc, why can’t we make arrangements for poor and economically weaker sections of the society.