Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has opted for the social media to showcase the state government’s resolve to provide free vaccines to the above 18 years age group and also prove BJP-led Centre’s callousness to the financial constraints faced by the states in providing free vaccines to beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group.

“The state government is committed to provide free vaccines to all Jharkandis. We have sanctioned a budget of

Rs 250 crore till now for providing free vaccines to the age group of 18-44 years, out of which Rs 47 crore has already been paid to the private companies manufacturing Covishield and Covaxin,” Soren tweeted in Hindi on his official twitter handle @JharkhandCMO on Monday morning.

The tweet further stated, “Out of the total of 6.21 lakh vaccines received by the state for the age group of 18-44 years, 5.21 lakh has already been administered. This has been done for your service from money derived from your tax payment….”

“The tweet was done to show transparency in the vaccine administration and also show to the masses of the state and also to the country the step motherly treatment meted out to Jharkhand by the Centre in Covid management.

“Similar tweets would be given as and when vaccines procurement happens for the 18-44 age group by the state on its own. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has not even bothered to reply to the CM letter so far,” said JMM central general secretary and party spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya.

Incidentally, Soren who is heading the JMM-led UPA government in Jharkhand had written to the Prime Minister on May 31 evening stating that the Centre’s decision to mandate the state government to procure Covid-19 vaccines is against the ‘principles of cooperative federalism’ and urged to give free vaccines to the state to tackle the pandemic.

The letter had also mentioned that the financial burden for the state to cover 1.57 crore beneficiaries (in the age group of 18-44 years) is likely to be around Rs 1,100 crore and will hit the financial situation of a state like Jharkhand which is already stressed in the Covid pandemic.

The letter had objected to the different prices for states by pointing that the rates specified by the Central government for procurement of vaccines by the state for the age cohort of 18-44 years was significantly higher than the rates at which vaccine is being procured by the Central government for beneficiaries in the age cohort of 45 years and above and this dichotomy will not stand the scrutiny of reasonable classification under the fundamental principles of the Constitution of India.

The ruling JMM termed the Prime Minister announcement of free Covid vaccines to the states for inoculation of all above the age of 18 from June 21 as an act out of compulsion following the Supreme Court observations and pressure from other states.

“Our chief minister wrote a letter to the PM on May 31 but the PMO did not bother to reply till now to it. The PM was compelled to make this announcement after the Supreme Court observation on May 31 against the Centre’s vaccination policy as ‘arbitrary and irrational’. In fact, the announcement should have been made on April 19 itself to prevent confusion among states. Our cash strapped state has already paid Rs 47 crore to the private vaccine manufacturing company. Will the Prime Minister arrange for us to get back the money?,” questioned JMM central general secretary and party’s spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya, considered close to Hemant.

Beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 take the jab at a centre in Jamshedpur on Monday Bhola Prasad

Significantly, the Supreme Court had made a prima facie observation that the Centre’s vaccination policy, which does not provide free vaccination for those in the age-group of 18-44 years, as “arbitrary and irrational”. The observation was made by a bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, L. Nageswara Rao and S. Ravindra Bhatt in the suo motu case on Covid related issues (in re-distribution of essential supplies and services during pandemic).

On Sunday, the state registered eight deaths due to Covid taking the total mortality figure to 5,054 while adding a meagre 293 fresh positive cases taking the active case load to 5,686.

The state government also asked private and government hospitals to make operational all the equipment given by corporates as part of CSR fund and government within two months and also submit details of such equipment to the government.