New Delhi: "My goal is to save lives, not vaccines," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on Monday, in a sharp response to his Haryana counterpart ML Khattar, who had in a press address earlier in the day attempted to allay fears of a vaccine shortage by saying he would rather ration the doses to make them last rather than speedily administer them "like other states".
"It was just drama when he said 'all vaccine centres will be shut from tomorrow because we are not getting doses'. I believe Delhi's share is much larger than other states," Khattar said.
Sharing the video address of the Haryana CM, Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi, "Khattar Sahib, only vaccine will save lives. The sooner there is a vaccine, the more people will be safe. My aim is not to save the vaccine, but to save people's lives."
Later in the day, when door-stopped by reporters on the sidelines of an event, the CM added, "If we do not vaccinate people at a faster pace and as soon as possible, how will we ensure vaccination for all our people and protect them from corona?"
In his video address, Khattar was heard referring to Delhi having to shut down all of its vaccination centres for those between the ages of 18 and 44.
"Like other states, should we also finish all 2 lakh doses in a day? We use 50,000-60,000 doses a day. All this... Arvind Kejriwal should see. But his intention is to indulge in politics and he does that. Nobody should play politics during a pandemic," the BJP leader said.
All of Delhi's government-run vaccination centres for the 18-44 age group have now been shut for over a week with the Centre blocking the Delhi government's attempts to purchase more stocks from manufacturers directly — a charge denied by the Centre.
However, following CM Khattar's remarks, curiously criticising Delhi's speedy vaccination programme, the Delhi government issued a statement saying even BJP leaders were now acknowledging that Delhi "has the fastest vaccination programme as compared to other states".
It went on to say that the Capital had administered vaccines to over 53 lakh people so far, of which more than 41 lakh have got the first dose and over 12 lakh have got both doses. "Apart from this, 50 percent of people in the age group above 45 years have also been vaccinated," it added.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also came to CM Kejriwal's aide on Monday, saying that BJP leaders can continue to "criticise and abuse" Arvind Kejriwal, but the Delhi CM will continue to demand Covid vaccines despite all odds.
"BJP leaders have been criticising and abusing Kejriwal because they want to cover up the failure of their government in vaccine management. But no matter how much they abuse, Kejriwal will continue to demand vaccines for the people of Delhi," Sisodia said in an online briefing.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national Capital is committed to getting every Delhiite inoculated before the third wave of the Coronavirus, he added.