West Bengal MPs meets Mandaviya, Pradhan over discrimination of COVID-19 vaccine distribution

A high-level delegation comprising of Members of Parliament along with Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Human Resources Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday, highlighting the alleged discrimination of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the state.

The delegation informed the Union Ministers that the West Bengal government has practised discrimination in the distribution of vaccines and the TMC government is keeping the common citizens deprived while giving preferential vaccination for TMC cadres and supporters only.

"We have informed them (the Union Ministers) of the vaccine politics in Bengal. We have demanded a solution," Ghosh told reporters here.

"The state government has over 30 lakh vaccines but they are deliberately not distributing it or they aren't able to because of poor management. The politics and black marketing of vaccines should end. We want vaccination centres at Centre-controlled health units," he said.

According to a release by the office of BJP spokesperson and MP Raju Bista, the Union Ministers have informed the delegation that the Centre government has supplied 3.14 crore doses of free vaccination to the West Bengal government, out of which only 2.8 crores have been utilized.

"So far 3.02 crore vaccinations have been used in West Bengal including by private hospitals. Among the total population, 29 per cent of the people have been vaccinated with the first dose and 12 per cent of citizens have been vaccinated with both the doses in the state, and as of today, West Bengal has an additional stock of 30 Lakh vaccines," it said.

Highlighting the plight of the people from North Bengal region, Raju Bista, BJP MP from Darjeeling said, "I informed the Ministers that in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region very less vaccination has been supplied till date, because of which people, especially those from the rural regions like the tea gardens and cinchona gardens are struggling to get vaccinated."

( With inputs from ANI )