As govt 'accepts' demand, Patnaik, Stalin hail move
New Delhi: Finally, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government blinked and accepted the demands of the opposition and chief ministers, primarily from the non-BJP ruled states, for making vaccination free for all.
As soon as the Centre announced vaccination for above 18 years and the states were directed to procure the vaccine themselves through global tenders for the beneficiaries belonging to age group 18-44 years, most of the non-BJP ruled states had urged the Centre to make it free and procure the vaccine centrally.
The CMs of Odisha, West Bengal and Maharashtra had written letters to PM Narendra Modi to ensure the availability of the vaccine through central procurement. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray had written to PM Modi on May 8, while West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had written to the PM on May 12 for asking the Centre to urge global vaccine manufacturers to set up franchise operations in India.
When the states failed to get the vaccine through global tenders, CMs of non-BJP ruled states took the lead and wrote letters to all the CMs to raise in one voice about making the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine as due to the shortage of vaccine, many states, including BJP-ruled, were forced to close vaccination centres.
The lead was taken by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who asked all the CMs to raise their voice for central procurement of the vaccine. Following Vijayan, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to all CMs for getting united in urging the Centre for ensuring vaccine availability in the states.
In support to Vijayan letter, Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also urged PM Modi to procure the vaccine and distribute it to the states as vaccine manufacturers are not willing to deal directly with the states.
The CMs of Jharkhand, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, etc have also advocated making vaccination free for all.
Hailing PM Modi's decision for making vaccination free for all, Odisha CM said, "Every life is precious. No one is safe until everyone is vaccinated. As a nation, we stand united in this fight against Covid-19 pandemic. Thank PM Narendra Modi for making vaccination a national mission."
"I welcome PM Modi's statement indicating that the Union government will procure 75 per cent of the vaccines produced in the country and provide them to the states free of cost. I also appreciate the PM for reversing his government's previous position," said MK Stalin, the Tamil Nadu CM.
