New Delhi: Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi relentlessly taking potshots at the NDA Government on the Covid-19 vaccine-related issues, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the Opposition-ruled states are not only wasting vaccine doses but also profiteering on the procurement of vaccines by selling at higher prices.
Addressing a press conference, he cited the data provided by Vikas Garg, an official of the Punjab government who is also in charge of the Covid vaccination programme. The figures Garg provided on May 29 suggest that 4.29 lakh doses of Covishield were procured for Rs 13.25 crores, which makes the average price of a dose Rs 309.
Also, 14,190 doses of Covaxine were procured for Rs 4.70 crore, with a single dose priced at Rs 412.
The minister claimed that Covishield is being sold at private hospitals for Rs 1,000 and above.
“The Centre has distributed 50 percent of vaccines to the states and UTs to vaccinate people free of cost. States are profiteering on their own procurement,” he said.
Puri said it was “shameful” that the Punjab government was trying to make a profit from this. It shows the “incompetence” of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s administration.
Targeting the Congress, he said, “Rahul Gandhi Ji asks where is the vaccine for our children. That vaccine is in the garbage in Rajasthan and profits are being made on that vaccine in Punjab. This is the culture of Congress.”
(VP)