Private hosps got more shots than Delhi govt: BJP

New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday said private hospitals in Delhi have procured more Covid vaccines than the Delhi government has done on its own as it sought to put the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation in the dock over its inoculation programme and claims about ramping up oxygen production in the city.

This came despite reports showing that the Centre was dictating how much the Delhi government can purchase directly from manufacturers.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Delhi government has directly procured over 8.17 lakh doses while private hospitals have bought over 9.04 lakh doses, and wondered if the private facilities are stronger than a government.For May, the Delhi government had initially ordered 67 lakh doses of each Covaxin and Covishield but was told this would not be possible.

While Kejriwal does daily press conferences to do his "politics" and engages in a battle of "one-upmanship", the fact is that his government has on its own provided for only 13 per cent of the total vaccination done in the national capital so far, Patra said, adding that the Centre has given over 45 lakh doses free to it.

Significantly, communication between the Centre and the Delhi government, now in the public domain, has clearly shown that the former has restricted the number of vaccine doses the Delhi government can purchase directly from manufacturers. This happened when the city ordered its supplies for May, as mentioned by Dy CM Manish Sisodia. Now, the Centre has again limited the number of doses "available for direct purchase" in June from manufacturers. However, noting that exactly a month back, the Aam Aadmi Party had announced that the city will have 44 oxygen plants, including eight from the Centre in a month, Patra sought his response on how many plants his government has established so far.