New Delhi: Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi while congratulating the frontline workers, medical professionals, scientists and researchers for crossing the milestone of 100 crore covid vaccine doses administered criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using the occasion as a way of self-promotion.
In an Op-Ed published in English daily The Hindu, Sonia Gandhi wrote: "This milestone marks the triumph of science and of India's research and manufacturing infrastructure built and nurtured over decades. It is opportune to recollect that it is the Patents Act, 1970, that contributed hugely to the development of our drugs and pharmaceutical industry, which has enabled India to become a globally respected manufacturer of vaccines."
She criticized the current government for its premature celebration after the first wave due to which the people also let their guards down resulting in the "disastrous second wave".
"During that horrific, difficult time, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister were nowhere to be seen or heard but reappeared only when the situation improved. This was a repeat of their performance during the first wave, when, after the sudden announcement of the lockdown, lakhs of migrant workers were abandoned, left to themselves to trudge thousands of kilometers home to their villages. Untold numbers perished along the way", she wrote.
She said that the vaccination drive would have gone a lot faster if the Centre had listened to the medical experts. Questioning the vaccination drive done on the PM's birthday and the lack of follow-ups thereafter, she said that "the government continues to treat the fight against Covid-19 as an event management exercise. "
"In the nine months since we started the vaccination drive, we have only been able to fully vaccinate less than a third of our adult population. Countries with comparable COVID-19 figures and even those with smaller or poorer economies have performed much better. Even if manufacturers ramp up production rapidly, our vaccination rate will fail to catch up. In the first three weeks of October, it was 50 lakh doses a day. This rate will have to be tripled to inoculate all eligible adults by year-end."
About free vaccination, she said that the 'Prime Minister has conveniently forgotten that a chunk of the population was still paying for the vaccine.
"While commendable, this is an indictment of the Government, which shifted its responsibility to citizens and the private sector. Not even 10% of our population can afford to pay for vaccines, yet the Government continues to allocate 25% of vaccines to the private sector. This is unacceptable - resulting in less, not more vaccination", she wrote.