From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, May 14: In a bid to put the Narendra Modi regime as well as the BJP government in the state to shame and embarrassment over the non-availability of vaccines against the Covid pandemic even as the country and Karnataka is facing a severe surge in the Covid second wave, former chief minister and Congress Opposition leader in the State Assembly Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Chief D K Shivakumar have announced a Rs 100 crore plan to provide vaccines to the people.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, have in a joint press release on Friday, announced that the Congress party in the state has prepared a plan to directly procure vaccines from the manufacturers and administer them to the people.

Pointing out that both the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the BS Yediyurappa regime in the state have 'collectively failed to vaccinate the masses,' the Congress party leaders have said that 'we have decided to do it ourselves.’

"We just need two small permissions – one from the central government and one from the state government – and appeal to the BJP not to let politics come in the way and in the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat allow Congress to directly procure and administer vaccines,’’ they said.

The Congress leaders explained that the vaccine procurement rules in India currently allow central and state governments, hospitals and industries to directly procure vaccines. The Karnataka Congress has demanded that it be given this permission as well, they said.

Shivakumar said the Congress party has a Rs 100 crore plan to kickstart the vaccination drive, of which Rs 10 crore was being contributed by the Karnataka Congress party fund. "Another Rs 90 crore can come from the Congress MLAs, MLC funds. I appeal to the Yediyurappa government to please allow us to use the MLA/MLC funds to procure vaccines directly in a transparent manner because Modi and Yediyurappa governments are failing to do so for months now,’’ he added.