Chidambaram backs MVA govt over 'vaccine shortage' charge; takes on Union Health Minister

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday lashed out at Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for targeting the Maharashtra government on the spread of COVID-19. Accusing the Union government of ignoring hard facts, he cited that nearly 20 states are behind Maharashtra when it comes to the vaccination of healthcare workers. Moreover, he added that the state stands fifth in the country in inoculating senior citizens. Alleging that the MVA-ruled state is not being supplied enough vaccine doses, Chidambaram opined that the Union government of making a "complete mess" of the vaccination programme. 

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope revealed that the state has only two days of COVID-19 vaccine stock left. Claiming that states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc. have been given more vaccines in comparison with population and COVID-19 cases, he stated that Maharashtra has been given only 7.5 lakh vaccine doses in the latest allotment. While acknowledging that the Centre had increased this limit to 17 lakh, Tope opined that this was not enough as the state is vaccinating approximately 6 lakh people every day.

Harsh Vardhan counters opposition

A day earlier, Harsh Vardhan singled out the governments of Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Punjab and Maharashtra for their "poor vaccination" efforts. Countering the demand of these states to remove the existing age cap for vaccination, he stressed that the primary aim of vaccination is to reduce mortality among the most vulnerable people. He said that it is an established practice across the world to prioritize as long as the supply of vaccines remains limited. Citing data, the Union Health Minister highlighted that the aforesaid states faired quite poorly in ensuring the coverage of healthcare workers, frontline workers and senior citizens in the inoculation drive. 

Rejecting the allegations of the Maharashtra government pertaining to the alleged shortage of vaccine doses, Harsh Vardhan remarked, "Throughout the last year, as the Health Minister of India, I have been a witness to the misgovernance and utter casual approach of Maharashtra Government in battling the virus. The lackadaisical attitude of the state government has singularly bogged down the entire country’s efforts to fight the virus. We, in the central government, have regularly counselled the Maharashtra state government, made them available all resources and sent central teams for help. However, the lack of efforts of the part of the state government is now clearly visible and come to haunt us all."