India is fortunate in having a prime minister who can only see the brightest side. In a discussion with chief ministers regarding the alarming rise in Covid-19 infections, he announced a ‘Tika Utsav’ between April 11 and 14 as a boost to vaccinations. States are expected to inoculate the maximum number of people during the shortest time in this festival. Narendra Modi believes in ‘changing the atmosphere’, so that vaccinations against a damaging, often deadly, virus can become festive for four days, framed by the birth anniversaries of Jyotiba Phule and B.R. Ambedkar at either end. While discussing the surge in infections, Mr Modi felt, no doubt, that a celebratory feel with a couple of icons thrown in — the relevance is mysterious — would energize people into vaccinating and being vaccinated so as to win the ‘war’ against the virus.

Such cheer would have jarred less had there not been a shortage of vaccines. A ‘Tika Utsav’ without adequate tikas is a bit over-the-top even for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. Maharashtra, Punjab, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are among the states declaring serious shortages; many states are shutting down vaccination centres or closing them early. Last week, some of these feared their stocks would run out in two days. The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, for example, said he was eager to comply with the prime minister’s programme, but for that his state would need 25 lakh doses. But the Union health minister has declared there are enough stocks and has forbidden “fear-mongering”. Maharashtra has been heartily rebuked for mismanaging vaccinations. But as buying and distributing vaccines are solely in the Centre’s grip, no one else is responsible if vaccination numbers begin falling just when the second wave hits a rising gradient. Reportedly, other vaccines are awaiting the government’s approval to come in, while the country’s two vaccine manufacturers are asking for finances to increase their production. The Centre’s lack of planning is too blatant to miss. So the ‘Tika Utsav’ serves multiple purposes. It allows Mr Modi to ignore frightening realities and act cheerful, so that issues of incompetence and accountability are drowned by cymbals and gongs on one side and rebukes on the other. Plus the failure of the utsav can be laid at the states’ door — party poopers, all of them.