BJP's 'close partner' Jagan bats for centralised vaccine procurement

Update: 2021-06-03 19:52 GMT

New Delhi: As the Covid-19 vaccine shortage situation is worsening in states, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is considered as a 'close partner' of the BJP and who has helped the saffron party in clearing most of the key Bills in the Rajya Sabha, on Thursday demanded centralised procurement of Covid-19 vaccines to ensure the availability of the same to every state.

In a letter written to his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, the Andhra Pradesh CM said: "The need of the hour is to increase our vaccine availability, be it through any source. A centralised and coordinated vaccination, supported by the states would lead to wonderful results for the people of India. Therefore, I urge you to lend your support and speak in one voice to overcome this pandemic."

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has also requested all his counterparts to speak in a single voice and urge the government at the Centre to take charge and responsibility of the vaccination drive in the way it was happening earlier.

Prior to Jagan, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik had on Wednesday urged all CMs for building a consensus over procurement of the shots by the Centre and its distribution among states by the government at the Centre.

As per experts, almost every state, including BJP-ruled states, is facing a vaccine shortage, but contrary to non-BJP ruled states, who have come out in the open to express their problems, the BJP-ruled states have not yet raised their concerns in this regard.

In his letter, Jagan Reddy said: "We had gone for a global tender to procure the vaccines directly to vaccinate everybody free-of-cost. The date of submission of bids was June 3 till 5 pm but no one quoted. The situation is no longer in our control as far as the procurement of vaccines is concerned and any delay in vaccinating the people would come at a heavy price."

Criticising the Centre's vaccine procurement policy, the Andhra Pradesh CM said: "Even though there are so many supply constraints in vaccine production, the decision of giving the states a larger say in vaccine procurement was something that was 'unwarranted'. In the last month and a half, the policy has made us (states) realise the challenges of this drive."

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