Kolkata: Principal political parties in West Bengal, namely the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Congress and the Left Front have lambasted the Union government for its "poor spending" of the COVID-19 vaccine budget.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had quoted an ETV Bharat report which said the Union government has so far spent only Rs 4,744 crore on vaccination, which is just 14% of the total vaccine budget of Rs 35,000 crore.
Addressing the floor of the West Bengal Assembly here on Saturday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Union government does not have a specific and consistent COVID-19 vaccination policy.
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“We have been demanding free vaccination since the beginning. The state government is even willing to bear the expenses for it. But the Union government remained silent. Now, there is a vaccine crisis indeed. The Union government is showing a step-motherly attitude towards West Bengal on issues of vaccines and oxygen,” she said.
Echoing Banerjee, TMC legislator Nirmal Ghosh slammed the Centre for the 'poor show' in terms of percentage spending of vaccination budget. “The Union government so far has spent only 14% of the total budget allocated on this count. When people are dying every day, such policies are simply unpardonable. The Union government should discuss with all stakeholders concerned and formulate a uniform vaccination policy. They cannot just push people to death,” he told ETV Bharat.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president and the party's Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that while all one hand the Union government is unable to spend even 14% of the total vaccination budget so far, on the other hand, it is spending Rs 20,000 crore on the Central Vista project.
“Where has the money allotted for vaccination gone? Why cannot the Union government ensure free vaccination for all,” Chowdhury questioned.
He too, like Banerjee, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the vaccine and oxygen crisis in West Bengal.
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The CPI(M), too, has alleged that the Union government is having a dichotomy over vaccines. “While the Union government should have concentrated on controlling the crisis, it was busy in powerplay in West Bengal. Now, the people are paying the price. My question is why the Union government is not utilizing its own allocated budget for the purchase of vaccines. In the current crisis, the worst sufferers are the poor working class of the society,” CPI(M) politburo member Mohammed Salim said.
However, the state BJP leadership seems to quite contented with the Centre. BJP state vice president Jaiprakash Majumdar said the Union government has played an exemplary role in combating the COVID-19 crisis. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardan has ensured a proportionate distribution of vaccines in all the states. He has assured the chief minister of all necessary cooperation,” Majumdar told ETV Bharat.
He denied that the Union government has spent only 14% of the vaccination budget. “This figure is not correct. The Union government is importing vaccines to ensure smooth supplies to various states,” he said.
