After Rahul Gandhi raised questions on the shortage of vaccines yet again, the central leadership has lashed out at him and asked if the Congress leader has not read the published "facts".
"July has come, the vaccine has not arrived," Gandhi wrote on Twitter Friday.
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？？？？？ ？ ？？？ ？？, ？？？？？？？ ？？？？ ？？？？？#WhereAreVaccines
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 2, 2021
Replying to this, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan accused him of "arrogance".
"Just yesterday, I put out facts on vaccine availability for the month of July. What is Rahul Gandhiji's problem? Does he not read? Does he not understand? There is no vaccine for the virus of arrogance and ignorance!! Congress must think of a leadership overhaul!" Vardhan took to Twitter to say.
Just yesterday, I put out facts on vaccine availability for the month of July.
What is @RahulGandhi Ji’s problem ?Does he not read ?
Does he not understand ?
There is no vaccine for the virus of arrogance and ignorance !!@INCIndia must think of a leadership overhaul ! https://t.co/jFX60jM15w
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) July 2, 2021
On the other hand, Union minister Piyush Goyal informed that 12 crore vaccine doses will be made available in July and that states have already been informed of the development in advance.
"120 million doses of the vaccine will be available in July, which is different from the supply for private hospitals. States have been informed about the supply 15 days in advance," said Goyal.
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"Rahul Gandhi should understand that the display of petty politics is not appropriate at this time instead of seriousness in the fight against corona," he added.
Gandhi has been a critic of the government ever since states started flagging a shortage of vaccines. He has urged the government to prepare for the third wave of coronavirus by inoculating the citizens on war-footing.
Ahead of the latest Mann Ki Baat episode by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader urged him to end the shortage of doses.
"Please just vaccinate all people in the country, even if you do 'Mann Ki Baat' after that," Gandhi said.
Following this, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Congress leader of "spreading lies".
"Prime Minister Modi ensured free vaccination for all in the country but you (Rahul Gandhi) are spreading lies, misconceptions and putting people's lives in danger. While PM spoke to villagers of Dulariya, counselled them to take the vaccine and cleared their doubts regarding vaccination," Chouhan said while reacting to Congress MP's criticism.
Shortage of doses
Several states have reported a paucity of vaccines, in turn halting the vaccination drive for a few days.
The Odisha government on Thursday halted the vaccination drive in 16 districts due to a shortage of Covishield doses.
The government was not able to conduct the immunisation programmes in 11 districts on Wednesday due to the scarcity of Covishield doses.
Further, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that Covid-19 vaccinations will be carried out only between 2 pm and 5 pm at a limited number of centres in the city on Friday.
Covaxin will be administered to only those who require their second dose.
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