Covid-19 preparedness: What our chief ministers want from PM Modi

PM Modi on April 23 spoke with chief ministers of the 10 states affected most by Covid-19. (Image: ANI)

New Delhi: State chief ministers on Friday bared their hearts before Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They talked about the need to increase confidence among the people in these tough times, how no one ever imagined the kind of oxygen shortages that arose, invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against those black-marketing Remdesivir injections and funding to buy vaccines for their 18+ population.

While the comments of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal garnered attention after they were televised, inside details of the meeting gleaned by this reporter show that the chief ministers of Rajasthan and Punjab were most concerned about where they could get the funds to procure vaccines for people aged 18-45 in their respective states. They asked how proper is it to ask the youth to pay for the vaccine while those above 45 got it for free.

Rajasthan Chief Minister 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 told the PM that if states have to sustain the financial pressure of procuring the vaccines, they will have to cut the budget for social security and development programmes and the Centre should hence consider providing vaccines for all age groups to the states.

Punjab Chief Minister 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 (SII), and sought Central government funding for this.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the PM that he would need Rs 1,300 crore for this job, at a time when the state is already spending money to save people’s lives.

Incidentally, this came on a day when the BJP announced that it will provide vaccination for free to all West Bengal residents above 18 years of age if it forms a government in the state, a promise also made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee if she wins.

Other states which have announced free vaccines to their entire adult 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 SII’s new prices.

Some admissions

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

CMs also conceded to 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 Remdesivir or creating any artificial shortage. He was backed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who informed the PM that he has also ordered invoking the NSA and Gangster Act against those black-marketing the antiviral drug 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 and solutions

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked the PM for permission to import Remdesivir, saying it is not getting even half of the daily required quantity. He also said that the state needed an additional 300 metric tonnes of oxygen, over the allotted figure.

Gehlot meanwhile cited figures to say his state had got a raw deal in the allotment of Remdesivir as it has got only 26,500 injections on April 21 while BJP-ruled states Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh had got 1.63 lakh and 92,200 injections, respectively, despite having fewer active cases. “In the same way, Rajasthan has not got a fair amount of oxygen,” Gehlot said.

Captain Amarinder Singh told the PM that clearer messaging was required that Remdesivir was “not a magic wand”.

States, however, have embarked on some innovate solutions too, the PM was told. Chouhan said two empty oxygen tankers had been air-lifted by the Indian Air Force from Indore to Jamnagar for re-filling while the state had decided to open a 1,000-bed facility 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% through efforts.