New Delhi: A delegation of Delhi Congress leaders on Friday submitted a memorandum to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal demanding free universal Covid vaccination and administering one crore doses per day to inoculate the entire population of the country by December 31.
The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) memorandum accused the Narendra Modi government of “criminal mismanagement of COVID-19” and “abandoning people to fend for themselves”.
“One crore vaccination per day was the need of the hour if the entire population of 140 crore people in the country is to be fully vaccinated by December 31. The present rate of 16 lakh vaccination per day on an average was too meagre, too slow,” said DPCC president Anil Kumar in a press conference.
“At this rate and pace, it will take over three years for the vaccination of the entire adult population in the country,” he added.
Only “39 crore vaccine doses” have been ordered by the Central government and state governments so far, he claimed.
Kumar also asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to stop making excuses and blaming others for his “inaction and incompetence”, and said only determined actions by the government would control the pandemic.
The memorandum said multiple pricing slabs for the vaccine fixed by the Central government is another instance of “profiteering from people’s misery” and urged for “free universal vaccination” as demanded by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi.
“Neither the Modi government, nor the Arvind government in Delhi, seemed to have learned any lessons from the bitter experiences of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic It is time they take some strong steps to not only ensure free vaccination to all, but also make proper arrangements to face a possible third wave, which experts caution would be deadlier than the present one,” Kumar said.