Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally decided to address the vaccination issue, nearly a week after the Supreme Court pulled up the Centre on 2 June for its “arbitrary and irrational” vaccine policy. The next hearing of the case was listed for 30 June. Clearly, the PM’s address to the nation pre-empted the government’s affidavit in the court.
The PM spoke with his usual flair and conviction. But is the public buying the rhetoric with the same faith as it did pre-Covid? That is going to be PM Modi’s biggest challenge in the next three years. He has tried to shift the blame of the botched up vaccination policy to the states. But there is ample evidence (in the media) where state chief ministers have requested him to allow the states to distribute the vaccination while the job of procuring is the Centre’s. More important is the timing—when did the government take the decision to pass on the vaccination procurement to the states? Was it right at the beginning when each state could place its orders? No, it was right in the middle of the second wave, when there was already a serious vaccine shortage as the Central government had not placed enough orders with the vaccination manufacturers.
Moreover, apart from West Bengal no other state has come forward to second the PM’s claim that it had requested the Centre to be allowed to procure the vaccinations. The request was for a decentralised method of distribution, allowing the states to distribute, while the Centre does the procurement.
The PM has also claimed that there are two made-in-India vaccines. This has been questioned for while both are made in India, only one of the two is discovered in India. How much did the Centre help financially in both the R&D and the manufacturing expenses is another story. The Supreme Court has asked for an accountability for the Rs 35,000 crore set aside in the last budget for procuring vaccines.
There have also been many questions raised about the timing of the PM’s speech, for he has made an appearance at a time when the horrific second wave is abating. Where was he during the oxygen shortages, non-availability of medicines and hospital beds? Yes, a large part of the blame goes to the states as health is a state subject (suddenly, you will hear this argument a lot from the BJP spokespersons) but what about the Prime Minister’s responsibility. Should he not have provided a roadmap for the states, well before the crisis hit us? What was his special task force on Covid doing? Who was advising the PM?
In the end, it’s all about politics and managing perceptions. By keeping a low profile and not making himself the face of the tragedy that hit our metros and villages may have been a smart political move. But will it work? Will the public blame the state CMs and not the Central government for the “manslaughter” that took place during the second Covid wave? (Trolls, please mark this is a phrase used by the Delhi High Court last week when commenting on the mismanagement of India’s vaccine capability.) Perhaps, yes, for no one is a better communicator than PM Modi.
When he told us to come out on our balconies and bang our bartans we did so. Months before this, when Rahul Gandhi had flagged the Covid threat from China, we ignored him. We all know who was grandstanding and who was right. But in the end, it came down to which leader had the greater credibility. Even today, after all that the country has gone through, there are those truly believe that the PM meant well (“neeyat theek hai”), but he was “misguided”. Fine, then, will there be any accountability from the officials who misguided the Prime Minister?
Unfortunately, I don’t think so. But we will get a lot more grandstanding and grander promises, all to be paid for by the hapless taxpayer as the price of petrol crosses Rs 100 a litre. All this, while the PM’s vote base remains intact and the Opposition struggles for the right face and the right rebuttal.