Govt has already executed measures suggested by Manmohan: Vardhan

Govt has already executed measures suggested by Manmohan: Vardhan

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:20.04.2021

Former PM Manmohan Singh’s five-point advisory to PM Narendra Modi on Sunday on how to fight the Covid-19 pandemic drew a sharp response from health minister Harsh Vardhan who said the ex-PM was being misled by his advisors as the government has already implemented the steps suggested by him.

“It does seem that those who drafted your letter or advised you have done a great disservice to your standing by misleading you regarding material that is already in public domain. For example, take the point that you have mentioned about allowing import of vaccines that have already been approved by credible foreign authorities. You made this suggestion on April 18 but a decision on this was taken a week ahead of your suggestion, on April 11,” Vardhan said.

“The same is the case with your suggestion regarding providing funds and other concessions to augment vaccine manufacturing. This decision was also taken many days before receipt of your letter and multiple vaccine manufacturing entities have been funded by the government to immediately enhance production,” the minister added.

In his response, released hours before Singh tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be admitted to AIIMS, Vardhan agreed with the former PM’s emphasis on vaccination as a defence against the pandemic, but said the government had already rolled out the world’s biggest vaccination drive.

Full report on www.toi.in

SHARP RESPONSE: Health minister Harsh Vardhan said former PM Manmohan Singh was being misled by his advisors