Aditya Pratap Swain
About 18 months back when coronavirus engulfed the entire world, we were celebrating ‘Namaste Trump’ and when the world was awash with the second wave of Covid-19 we were celebrating the ‘Dance of Democracy’ and Kumbh Mela. When the Union Health Minister told the nation in February this year that ‘India is now at the endgame of Covid’ it was clear that the Central government was not serious in pandemic management. In January, we had already an idea regarding the more infectious Brazilian and UK strains but the government kept on saying that they are aware of it and keeping a close watch on the development. But in reality, nothing was done for which we are paying a heavy price today.
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Obsessed with the desire to build a ‘king-size Image’ of the Prime Minister, the government allowed more than 60 million doses of our vaccines to be exported, ignoring the demand back home. The only protection available now is vaccination. But for reasons best known to the government, it decentralised the vaccine procurement policy by diverting the burden to procure vaccines for 18-44 age groups to the state governments through direct negotiation with the manufacturers. To make matters worse, there is differential pricing of vaccine procurement. This was done clearly to shift the blame on the state government in case of any difficulty in procuring vaccines. The Central government has compelled the state governments to fend for themselves by shifting the responsibility and abdicating its own responsibility.
The vaccination programme is in a mess now. As a result there is a mad rush for the second dose and the states have gone dry of vaccine supply. Left to fend for itself, the Government of Odisha as well as many other states have decided to float global tenders for vaccines as the Central government has almost abdicated its duty in supplying the required vaccines to the states. On the other hand, the governments in the West have centralised the procurement to make vaccination a smooth process.
The situation is grim now. Limited ICU and ventilator beds have been filled completely. As of today India has more than 37 lakh active Covid cases. But the current health infrastructure is not capable of handling even 25 lakh active cases, which is being reflected on the ground. When the country was yelling for more medical facilities, the Central government was doing ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ propaganda. As a result, procuring medical equipment and essentials from abroad have become a herculean task for the importers. Now India is literally begging the world to get Covid-related medicines, equipment and vaccines.
To make matters worse, a section of the media too played a dirty role in covering up the actual situation on the ground. The mainstream media was too busy in working as BJP’s PR agents during the recently concluded Assembly elections. They were doing ‘Duo-Worship’ instead of fighting Covid-19. They never put the facts before the people. Instead of asking hard questions to the government, they kept on asking questions to the Opposition.
The Central government is completely insensitive. It still charges GST on essential medicines, medical equipment and even oxygen. Many state governments, including Odisha, have urged for waiver of GST on Covid medicines and vaccines. Only recently, the Union Finance Minister clarified that withdrawing GST from these items would increase their prices further. How much more insensitive can this government be?
On the one hand, the Central government urged the WTO to relax IPR during the pandemic which the US considered sympathetically. But while applying the same, the Government of India is doing just the opposite. In an affidavit in response to the question as to why the two vaccine manufactures cannot be asked to part with their IPR to manufacture the vaccine, it told the Supreme Court that “exercise of statutory powers would be counter-productive at this stage”.
We are fighting a virus, a deadly virus. There will be casualties which is understandable. But how can you allow someone to die just because you cannot give them basic the ingredient of life – ‘oxygen’? How can you allow the State to get away with the fact that it couldn’t and still now cannot provide lifesaving drugs or medical beds? How can a government allow its citizens to die on the roads? If this is not mismanagement, then what is it?
The writer is an advocate practicing in the Supreme Court.
