By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, May 1 (IANS): The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Congress and Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday slammed the BJP at the Centre questioning its decision to permit exports of Covid-19 vaccines when people in the country were dying.

"What was the need to export vaccines to other countries. Even to India's rivals like Pakistan? It seems the government has left our people to die. Cities and villages all over the country are reduced to cremation grounds," Maharshtra Congress president Nana Patole said.

Senior NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also sought to know why the Centre exported Indian vaccines to foreign countries ignoring the urgent needs here.

"If the vaccines had not been sent abroad, we would not have experienced a shortage here now. But whatever has happened is gone, now at least the same quantities of vaccines must be imported for the people," Pawar demanded.

The two senior leaders' comments came four days after a Nagpur-based activist-lawyer Pranay Ajmera made shocking revelations through RTI how crores of vaccine doses were exported, either as 'dole' or as sale at rates cheaper than India, even as lakhs of domestic patients run helter-skelter for the life-saver jab.

As per official data, India exported a total of 663.698-lakh doses of the jab, consisting of 107.15-lakh doses to countries as 'grant', and the rest sold as per commercial agreements, to a total of 95 countries till date.

"For grant supplies, vaccines were procured at a rate of Rs 200/dose plus GST from Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd (SII-Pune) and at a rate of Rs 295/dose from Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL), in accordance with the authorization given by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MHFW)," the MEA's RTI reply to Adv. Ajmera stated.

Pawar pointed out how experts are predicting a 'third wave' of Covid-19 by July-August for which the state government has already started making full preparations.

"For preventing and controlling it, vaccination is the best option available, and the Centre must allow the import of vaccines Considering the capacity of the two main manufacturers, Serum Institute of India Ltd and Bharat Biotech International Ltd, it will take us a long time to inoculate the entire population," Pawar pointed out.

Patole concurred saying that worldwide, vaccination is considered the only viable option which is showing positive results and it is being used successfully, and India must also emulate.

Giving the example of other countries like Israel where vaccination is giving good results, the Deputy CM called for implementing the inoculation drive in a proper manner across India.

Amid a debate after the expose (IANS-April 27), barely a couple of days later, the two vaccine manufacturers had slashed their vaccine prices for the states, even as the country prepared to launch the mega-vaccination programme for all in the 18-44 age group from May 1.

"The question that remains unanswered is - when India with such a huge population is dying for the doses, where was the need for us to display such generosity, even many countries with low rates of infections and fatalities," Adv Ajmera demanded.

He suggested that ideally, India should have ensured sufficient doses for her own citizens and created a surplus before the dole of the doses or permitting commercial exploitation by Indian companies.