Opposition Parties Calls For ‘One Nation, One Policy’ To Tackle Covid-19

Highlights:

• ‘No one can deny that the Centre is incapable of handling the COVID-19 situation,’ the NCP leader said.
• The NCP leader demanded that the PM Narendra Modi government should convene an all-party meeting to formulate policy.

On Monday, Maharashtra’s ruling NCP and Congress attacked the Centre for its handling of the COVID-19 situation in the country, calling for “one nation, one policy” to combat the pandemic.

Nawab Malik, the State Minority Affairs Minister and a spokesperson and Mumbai president of the National Congress Party (NCP), also demanded that the Modi government should convene an all-party meeting to formulate the policy.

A statement quoted Malik as saying, “the coronavirus cannot be eradicated only through advertisements at a time when there is a need to work out ‘one nation, one policy’ considering the current COVID-19 situation in the country.”

He also stated that the situation in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar was such that COVID-19 victims’ final rites were conducted in rivers rather than crematoriums.

“The COVID-19 pandemic will not be addressed until the nation adopts a single policy. To decide on policy, the Modi government should convene an all-party meeting,” he said.

Also Read: ‘Trust Us, No Need For Court To Interfere’: Centre To Supreme Court On Covid Vaccine Policy

“No one can deny that the Centre is incapable of handling the COVID-19 situation,” he claimed.

Malik also mentioned the Supreme Court’s appointment of a 12-member National Task Force of top medical experts to develop a methodology for allocating oxygen to states and union territories and help in the public health response to the pandemic.

“The Centre isn’t doing what it’s meant to be doing. As a result, court orders are being followed. This indicates that the (central) government is unable to fulfil its responsibilities,” alleged the NCP leader.

Balasaheb Thorat, the Maharashtra Revenue Minister and a senior Congress leader, targeting the Centre over its vaccination programme, claiming that the Modi government “does not have” any proper strategy and planning to inoculate citizens.

“The Centre previously spoke about effectively addressing the first wave (of COVID-19), but the way elections were conducted, the way the Kumbh Mela was organized…as a result the entire country is suffering,” Thorat told reporters here.

He said that the central government, its leadership, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji are entirely to blame.

Thorat noticed that the SC had to interfere and shape the task force, and he questioned as to what the Centre was doing.

He claimed, “It is being seen that it (the Centre) is not serious about anything.”

Thorat also alleged that states were not being provided with a sufficient number of vaccine doses to inoculate people aged 18 to 44.

He accused the Centre of refusing to grant permission to foreign companies willing to supply vaccines to India.

Balasaheb Thorat also suggested the Centre to give states the ability to develop their own vaccine registration applications.

Also Read: Supreme Court Cancels Maratha Quota, Says No Valid Ground To Breach 50% Capping

The Shiv Sena, which governs Maharashtra alongside the NCP and the Congress, also slammed the Centre, claiming that the Supreme Court established the task force in response to the COVID-19 situation, but that “those ruling the country are engaged in politics.”

They were busy appointing the chief minister of Assam (following the recent Assembly elections) and “conspiring” to prevent the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal from carrying out its duties, according to an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana.’

“What do people who are about to die do at such a time? Who is their saviour?” It questioned.

The Supreme Court’s heart melted, and a national task force of 12 experts was created, according to the editorial.

“This committee should now pump life into the health-care system,” it said.