Public Morale, Funds for Vaccines Big Topics at PM Modi's Virtual Covid-19 Meet With Chief Ministers

From the need to gain the confidence of citizens to admitting the herculean oxygen crisis to advocating steps like invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against those black-marketing Remdesivir injections and flagging finance concerns to continue the Covid-19 inoculation drive for the 18+ population,  – chief ministers bared their hearts before Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

While Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to telecast his conversation with Modi live grabbed eyeballs all morning and for most parts of the day, inside details of the meeting gleaned by News18 reveal that the CMs of Rajasthan and Punjab were most concerned about funds to procure the vaccines. They asked if it was fair to ask the youth to pay for the vaccines while those above 45 got it for free.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot told the PM that the states had not made any budget provisions for procuring vaccines after the Centre had allocated Rs 35,000 crore for the same. Gehlot said that if states have to sustain the financial pressure of procuring the vaccines, it will cut into the budget for social security and development programmes and the Centre should hence consider providing vaccines for all age groups to the states. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh added that the state will have to incur an expense of Rs 1,000 crore going by the price of Rs 400 per dose set by the Serum Institute of India and sought central government funding. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan told PM he would need Rs 1,300 crore for the drive at a time when the state is already spending a lot on medical infrastructure to save people’s lives.

Incidentally, on the same day, the BJP announced that it will provide vaccines for free to all above 18 years of age if it forms the government in West Bengal, a promise also made by CM Mamata Banerjee. Other states which have announced free vaccines to all their population are BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Bihar and Assam as well as various opposition-ruled states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. The latter states have, however, objected to the SII’s new prices.

‘Need to rise above politics’

“This is a big crisis. Problems before us, like the shortage of oxygen, had never been imagined earlier. But we have to be united in this hour under PM Modi so that confidence is generated among people and we are able to win,” Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said at the meeting. His point was reiterated by Gehlot who said the situation had become scary. “In the present circumstances, some heart-rending scenes have been witnessed. There is a need to boost morale and ensure no one dies due to a lack of oxygen or medicine. We have to rise above politics in this hour and set an example,” Gehlot said.

The chief ministers also raised instances of black-marketing of Remdesivir injections. Chouhan said he has ordered the stringent National Security Act (NSA) to be invoked against those found black-marketing the crucial antiviral drug or creating an artificial shortage. He was backed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who informed the PM that he has also announced a similar order along with invoking the Gangster Act against violators and that the properties of such persons will be confiscated. Chouhan however told the PM that a clear guideline from the Centre is needed on the use of Remdesivir.

Complaints & Innovative solutions

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked PM Modi for permission to import Remdesivir saying it is not getting even half of the required daily quantity and wanted about 300 MTs more oxygen than the allotted figure. Gehlot meanwhile cited figures to say his state had got a raw deal in the allotment of Remdesivir as it received only 26,500 injections on April 21 while BJP-ruled Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh got 1.63 lakh and 92,200 respectively despite fewer active cases. “In the same way, Rajasthan has not got a fair amount of oxygen,” Gehlot lamented. Singh urged Modi to use resources to alleviate fears and panic among the citizens over the use of Remdesivir and to urge them to understand that it was “not a magic wand.”

Much like complaints, there were some innovative solutions too. Chouhan said two empty oxygen tankers had been air-lifted by IAF from Indore to Jamnagar for re-filling while the state had decided to open a 1000-bed Covid centre next to the Bina refinery in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh to immediately use the Oxygen produced there. Gehlot told the PM that his state had been able to rationalize its oxygen use by 10 per cent through concerted efforts.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.