Ask Punjab, Rajasthan where the vaccines are, Puri target Rahul Gandhi

Union Minister Hardeep Puri hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who has been raising concerns over the Covid vaccine shortage in the country and the pace of the inoculation drive. "Rahul Gandhi asks where the vaccines for our children are. Vaccines are in the garbage in Rajasthan and in Punjab, profits are being made out of vaccines. This is the culture of the Congress," Puri said during a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday.  He also sought to know the “nature of the fund" to which the money received by the state government from private hospitals was credited. Citing a Punjab government communication, he said it procured Covishield vaccines for Rs 412 per dose but sold it to private hospitals for Rs 1000 and they, in turn, charged Rs 1,560 from the people. Two private hospitals in Mohali charged people Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,200, he alleged.

The Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab found itself at the centre of a storm this week after Sukhbir Badal, chief of the opposition Akali Dal, said the state government had re-sold 40,000 doses of Covaxin at "hefty margins". Soon after the backlash, the Congress government on Friday withdrew the order providing "one-time limited vaccine doses to 18-44 age group population through private hospitals".

 In Rajasthan, there were allegations raised by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat that the state had wasted 11.5 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccine. The state government, however, said the wastage of vaccine in Rajasthan is less than 2 per cent, which is below the national average of 6 percent and permissible limit of 10 per cent. Rahul Gandhi, who has been fiercely critical of the centre's handling of the pandemic and the vaccination policy, has maintained that the second wave would not have been so deadly had the government ensured easy access to vaccines.

Puri also accused the opposition parties of spreading misinformation and lies over the recently enacted farm reform laws, noting that the central government has done record procurement, with Punjab being the major beneficiary. The state contributed over 32 percent of 411.19 lakh tonnes of the wheat procured, with over Rs 26,103.89 crore credited to bank accounts of farmers directly, he said