New Delhi: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday responded to former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s suggestions to the government with regard to handling of the Covid-19 situation amid the surge in cases and alleged the second wave of the pandemic was instead fuelled by the Congress-ruled states as they were busy raising doubts about vaccines rather than vaccinating people.
“It does seem that those who drafted your letter or advised you have done a great disservice to your standing by misleading you regarding material that is already in public domain,” he said while responding to Dr Singh’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Health Minister said “irresponsible public pronouncements” made by some Congress leaders “have resulted in a below national average vaccination coverage of senior citizens and even front-line workers in some of the Congress-ruled states”.
“Please do note that it is these very same states that have become the big contributors in the second wave of Covid-19 infection. The test positivity ratio in these states during the second wave is alarming high and they too could benefit from your counsel and wisdom,” he added.
Vardhan acknowledged Dr Singh understands the importance of vaccination as an important method of fighting the COVID-19 battle but pointed out the “people in responsible positions in your party as well as in the state governments formed by your party do not seem to share your view”.
The Health Minister further said it is “shocking that senior members of the Congress party are yet to utter a single word of gratitude towards our scientist community and vaccine manufacturers for innovating under trying circumstances and empowering the world with vaccines”.
He asked the former prime minister shouldn’t it be a matter of pride that India is perhaps the only developing country to have two vaccines.
“Let alone thanking our scientists, many Congress members and Congress ruled state governments have taken extraordinary interest in spreading falsehoods regarding the efficacy of these vaccines, thereby fuelling vaccine hesitancy, and playing with the lives of our countrymen. A sitting chief minister of your party created a dubious world record of sorts by being the only head of government directly inciting people against an indigenously developed vaccine! Some Congress leaders even shamed the vaccines in public but took their doses in private, quietly,” Vardhan said.
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“A word of advice from you to them even if it had been done in private by you may have ensured better cooperation from these people. Knowing your penchant for constructive cooperation, which you have said you always believed in, I would assume that you did advise them and yet, quite clearly, your advice has been in vain,” he added.
The Health Minister further said the former prime minister’s advice to not get tempted to go by absolute numbers but to go by percentage of population covered is not incorrect.
Highlighting the point in the letter on allowing import of vaccines that have already been approved by credible foreign authorities, Vardhan said a decision on this “had already been taken a week ahead of your suggestion on April 11, 2021”.
“The same is the case with your suggestion regarding providing funds and other concessions to augment vaccine manufacturing. This decision had also been taken many days before receipt of your letter and multiple vaccine manufacturing entities have been funded by the government to immediately enhance production,” Vardhan said.
The Health Minister also shared the letter written to Dr Singh on Twitter stating “history shall be kinder to you” if your offer of constructive cooperation and valuable advice was followed by the Congress leaders as well in such extraordinary times
“History shall be kinder to you Dr Manmohan Singh ji if your offer of ‘constructive cooperation’ and valuable advice was followed by your @INCIndia leaders as well in such extraordinary times! Here’s my reply to your letter to Hon’ble PM Sh @narendramodi ji 👍 @PMOIndia,” he tweeted tagging the letter written to Dr Singh.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">History shall be kinder to you Dr Manmohan Singh ji if your offer of ‘constructive cooperation’ and valuable advice was followed by your <a >@INCIndia</a> leaders as well in such extraordinary times !<br><br>Here’s my reply to your letter to Hon’ble PM Sh <a >@narendramodi</a> ji 👍 <a >@PMOIndia</a> <a >pic.twitter.com/IJcz3aL2mo</a></p>— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) <a >April 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Dr Singh had on Sunday written to Prime Minister Modi suggesting five ways the government can defeat the pandemic and said the very first step before implementing them is to accept the country is facing an economic crisis.
The Congress veteran in his letter written amid surge in coronavirus cases emphasized that the expansion of Covid vaccination programme is a big part of pandemic management, adding there is a need to resist the temptation to look at absolute numbers vaccinated and instead focus on percentage of population vaccinated.