Centre was busy in 'international image management' instead of handling COVID-19: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on India's 'Vaccine Maitri'

Manish Sisodia stated that the youth in India are dying due to the shortage of coronavirus vaccines.

File Photo (Twitter/AAP)

New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday (May 9, 2021) attacked the Centre over its 'vaccine maitri' and said that it was busy in 'international image management' instead of handling the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Manish Sisodia stated if the COVID-19 vaccine doses were not exported, they could have been used to vaccinate and save the lives of people who died due to coronavirus.

"At a time when almost every Indian family was affected due to the virus, the Central Government exported 6.6 crore COVID-19 vaccines to 93 countries and left its own country's people to die," the Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister tweeted in Hindi.

देश में पिछले 2 महीनों में 1 लाख से ज्यादा लोगों की कोरोना से मौत हुई है। जिस समय देश का लगभग हर परिवार कोरोना से पीड़ित था, पूरे देश में हाहाकार मचा था, उस समय केंद्र सरकार ने 6.6 करोड़ वैक्सीन 93 देशों को एक्सपोर्ट कर अपने ही देश के लोगों को मरने के लिए छोड़ दिया। — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 9, 2021

He stated that the youth in India are dying due to the shortage of coronavirus vaccines and alleged that Central Government provided the Delhi government with only 5.5 lakh vaccine doses for people over 18 years of age, while it exported over 6.6 million doses to countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Oman, Afghanistan and Morocco.

Sisodia blamed the Centre for the shortage of vaccine and said, "If there were so much amount of vaccine, it should have been given to our own people for better COVID-19 management but the central government was engaged in international image management."

हमारे ही वैज्ञानिकों की बनाई वैक्सीन हमारे ही लोगों के लिए उपलब्ध नहीं है. वैक्सीन की कमी के लिए पूरी तरह केंद्र सरकार ज़िम्मेदार है.

जब इतनी वैक्सीन बन गई थी तो इसे अपने लोगों को देकर बेहतर कोरोना मेनेजमेंट हो सकता था लेकिन केंद्र सरकार इंटर्नैशनल इमेज मेनेजमेंट में लगी रही. — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 9, 2021

He also said, "It is a good thing to worry about the world, but the countries like USA, Canada, Europe, are arranging vaccines for their people first. Only France exported 1 lakh vaccines last month." 

"Our central government has donated 6.6 crore since March," he added.

अंतरराष्ट्रीय जगत की चिंता करना अच्छी बात है लेकिन अमेरिका, कनाडा, यूरोप के देश, पहले दुनिया भर से, अपने लोगों के लिए वैक्सीन का इंतज़ाम करने में लगे हैं. केवल फ़्रांस ने पिछले महीने 1 लाख वैक्सीन एक्सपोर्ट की हैं.

हमारी केंद्र सरकार मार्च से अब तक 6.6 करोड़ दान दे चुकी है. — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 9, 2021

Meanwhile, the Centre on Sunday morning said that it has so far provided more than 17.56 crore vaccine doses to states and UTs free of cost. "Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 16,83,78,796 doses as per data available at 8 am on Sunday," the press statement read.

(With inputs from agencies)