Jaishankar urges Indian Missions to 'filter noise' as India sees politics over COVID aid

As India battles the devastating second wave of COVID-19, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar spoke about the politics and narratives being peddled over the COVID-19 situation in the country. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Jaishankar gave a crucial message to the Indian Missions abroad who are involved in procuring critical supplies for India to tackle the COVID-19 crisis.

"The key message to Indian Missions abroad is - there will be debates in India, filter the noise, do what you have to do as a mission. Your job is to ensure key requirements – oxygen, pharmaceuticals, Remdesivir, vaccines, supply chain and logistics for all of this is a requirement," Jaishankar said, urging the Indian diaspora abroad to not get distracted by the politics and the propaganda around the COVID-19 situation in India.

"My message is that keep your focus on this, don’t get distracted by the rest of the debate. That's not relevant to what your focus should be right now. Just like the government is focused on addressing the pandemic at home, you also please do that at the moment. We will deal with arguments down the road. At the moment keep your eyes and energy focused on this," he added.

Jaishankar's reference to the "debates" is also likely in the context of the global coverage of India's COVID plight, which has been copious as it should, given the scale of the crisis, but has also been replete with familiar guest voices from India who for some reason or the other find it unable to distinguish between what's happening in 2021 and, for instance, the Gujarat riots.

Politics over COVID aid from friendly countries

Meanwhile, ouestions were raised by the opposition as to how is the COVID aid received by India being utilised in fighting the crisis. To set things in perspective, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that aid received from other countries has been distributed in different states to help deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The Health Ministry said the relief materials were supplied to states as per the SOPs for allocation, depending on the caseload and severity of the crisis in the states.

More than 40 lakh different items have been received in the form of aid from foreign countries which have been distributed to 38  institutions and hospitals run in 31 States and Union Territories. The aid received in the form of donation is received by the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) which is working in tandem with the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and Health Ministry and Ministry of Home Affairs.

A Cell was created on April 26 under the Union Health Ministry to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign COVID relief material as grants, aid and donations. The Cell comprises of a Joint Secretary on deputation from Ministry of Education, two Additional Secretary level officers from MEA, Chief Commissioner Customs, Economic Advisor from Ministry of Civil Aviation, two Joint Secretaries from MoHFW, representatives from IRCS and other officials.

As India battles the deadly COVID-19 crisis with an acute shortage of oxygen and other medications required in the treatment of COVID-19 patients amid the alarming surge in infections, more than 40 countries have sent medical aid and other assistance to India to combat the crisis. Nations such as the US, the UK, Russia, France, Germany, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, among others have sent medical assistance to India in the form of oxygen concentrators, ventilators and other essential medical supplies required in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

(IMAGE: PTI)