Health Minister To Brief Oppn Today On Covid Situation After Heated Midnight Debate In Lok Sabha

The opposition demanded an answer from the government on how it has planned to stop the spread of new virus strain and also sought clarity on booster doses of vaccines.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: The Parliament witnessed a stormy Lok Sabha session on Thursday night as the opposition hit out at the government over COVID-19 management, accusing it of mishandling the second wave and

The opposition demanded an answer from the government on how it has planned to stop the spread of new virus strain and also sought clarity on booster doses of vaccines.

The discussion in Lok Sabha on the issue Of Covid, new strain Omicron, low vaccination rate, and manufacturing and export of vaccines continued beyond midnight, in which 74 members participated.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is expected to reply to the questions raised by opposition leaders today as the House was adjourned last night.

Here's how opposition parties tried to corner the Central government in Lok Sabha: 

• In a discussion in Lok Sabha on the Covid pandemic, members called for a ban on international flights in view of the outbreak of the Omicron strain and demanded that the government "accept responsibility" for the deaths of lakhs of people during the outbreak, reported PTI.
• TMC's Mahua Moitra claimed that vaccine production started very late as the country did not make investments. She also claimed that there was poor coverage for the second dose of the Covid vaccine.
• Shiv Sena leader Vinayak Raut, who had initiated the debate, lamented that Parliament was discussing the issue 21 months after the outbreak of the disease and at a time when cases were on the decline. On COVID-19 vaccination, Raut accused the Centre of allocating vaccine doses to BJP-ruled states in excess and at the cost of non-BJP ruled states.
  
  "The prime minister's responsibility is for the entire 130 crore population. It should not be so that you look at Maharashtra with a sly glance, help Gujarat in good measure and make maximum allocations to Uttar Pradesh because it is going to polls. Allocations should be made on the basis of the population," the Sena leader said.
•  Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar who who is a member of the Trinamool Congress asked the government that why the country has not completed the second dose of vaccination till December and when will the 100 per cent population of India be fully vaccinated.
• Some Lok Sabha members also flagged views on booster doses of vaccines for the elderly and those with co-morbidities. The opposition demanded that the government should reveal its policies and plans regarding booster doses before the country is hit by a third wave of Covid.
• YSR Congress member Kumari Godetti Madhavi suggested utilising the unused stock of five to 10 million vaccine doses with the private sector for administering the booster doses to healthcare and frontline workers.
• Congress Gaurav Gogoi said that the nation can never forget the horrific scenes it witnessed during the second Covid wave and accused the government of ignoring various warnings leading to a shortage of beds, oxygen, and ventilators during the second wave. He also slammed the government on inflation and said that instead of supporting the poor, he said, the government has increased fuel prices.
• AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi accused the Modi government of being unprepared for the second wave of COVID-19. "The second wave would have not come if the Narendra Modi government was on alert," he said.
• Samajwadi Party's S T Hasan said the number of people who lost their lives due to COVID-19 should be ascertained and compensation is provided to the kin of the deceased. He also said families of journalists who died due to Covid should also be given compensation.
  
  Hasan also congratulated the government for running a "successful" vaccination programme and stressed the importance of administering the second dose of Covid vaccine, reported PTI.
• Amol Kolhe of the Nationalist Congress Party said international flights should be stopped in view of the new variant of Covid Omicron.
  
  Likening the COVID-19 response as a "war against the pandemic", Kolhe hoped that the 'general' will not leave the battle field.
  
  "We hope that the prime minister will stay put in the battlefield to take on the virus and not move to election rallies," the doctor-politician said.
• Kolhe and Raut also asked the government to reconsider its decision on the increased gap between two doses of Covishield and said that considering the new strain Omicron entering India the gap should be reduced. They also demanded that the government spell out the status of vaccination for children.
• Trinamool member Shatabdi Roy wondered why assembly polls were held in eight phases in West Bengal.
• NCP member Supriya Sule wondered why the vaccination certificates carried photographs of the prime minister when states were equal stakeholders in the inoculation drive.
• Referring to flyers, Congress' Karti Chidambaram said vaccine certificate should only have the photo of the passenger and not someone else. He said air passengers have to follow a cumbersome procedure at airports, which should be simplified.

BJP dismissed claims by oppn and raised questions on Rahul Gandhi's vaccination status

While the opposition tried to corner the government, BJP leaders also did not miss a chance to register the work done by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even launched an attack by raising questions on Rahul Gandhi's vaccination status.

• Launching a strong defence of the government, BJP members credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his leadership throughout the pandemic, for strengthening health infrastructure and making the country self-reliant in healthcare supplies such as vaccines, face-masks, PPE kits.
• "Be it availability of medicines, stepping up oxygen production, ensuring vaccines for everyone or distributing free food grains for the poor, the prime minister cared for everyone," BJP member Rita Bahuguna Joshi said.
• BJP MP Tejasvi Surya accused the Congress of creating hesitancy against made-in-India COVID-19 vaccines and sought to know whether Rahul Gandhi has taken the jab yet.
  
  "The nation wants to know if Rahul Gandhi has been vaccinated? If yes, which vaccine has he taken? Why has he not tweeted about vaccination, is he not proud about the fact that India has two made-in-India vaccines?" he said, reported PTI.
• Hitting out at the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Pal said when the leaders of these parties were "locked" in their homes, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was going to every district saving lives and had himself contracted Covid.
• BJP's Jagdambika Pal dismissed Opposition criticism that BJP-ruled states were favoured in battling Covid and said there was no discrimination in fighting the pandemic.
• BJP member Nishikant Dubey said that all MPs should come together, leaving aside the politics, for a healthy debate on COVID-19 as the need of the hour is to save the lives of the people from the pandemic.
• On people losing jobs due to the pandemic, Dubey said that the phenomenon was not only in India but across the world.
• Participating in the debate, BJP's Ratan Lal Kataria said that as a new variant of the Covid virus has emerged, there is a need to be more cautious and follow all protocol properly.
  
  "It is not the time to sit comfortably, we have to be vigilant," he said. They should encourage people engaged in the fight against the pandemic, he said.

(With PTI inputs)