Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged the Prime Minister to ensure free and universal immunisation against Covid-19 and drew his attention to other aspects of the pandemic’s management such as hospital beds, medicines and oxygen.

Mamata made the appeal in her first letter to Narendra Modi on the first day of her third consecutive term as the Bengal chief minister.

“I would again like to emphasise on free vaccination for all. You may recall my letter of February 24, 2021, wherein I had requested you to allow the government of West Bengal to procure vaccines from designated points for providing vaccination to people of the state free of cost. This has not yet been addressed,” she wrote in the two-page letter.

The chief minister had on April 20 formally reminded Modi of the February 24 communication, while terming his government’s new vaccine policy as “hollow” and accusing it of evasion of responsibility amid such a crisis.

In Wednesday’s letter, Mamata asked Modi to look into four aspects of the war against Covid-19.

“Free vaccination as universal immunisation for all in a transparent and time-bound manner. At present, vaccine availability is too inadequate to provide to eligible beneficiaries and government of India direction to extend vaccination up to 18 years plus makes it unrealistic to achieve. So, supply of vaccines is the core issue to address now,” Mamata wrote.

“Ensuring adequate availability of essential drugs including Remdesivir and Tocilizumab to the states to meet their rising demand,” she added, asking for 10,000 doses of Remdesivir and 1,000 vials of Tocilizumab for Bengal.

Mamata had demanded free and universal vaccination by the Centre at least twice in the past.

The chief minister on Wednesday pointed out the consumption of medical oxygen had rapidly increased from 220 million tonnes per day to 400 million tonnes in the state, which is likely to increase to 500 million tonnes daily in the next seven days.

Mamata and other Trinamul Congress leaders with governor Jagdeep Dhankhar after the swearing-in Pradip Sanyal

“Concerned authorities may kindly be advised to allocate at least 500 MT of medical oxygen per day out of total oxygen produced in Bengal on an urgent basis to prevent any shortage,” Mamata wrote, adding that the dearth of oxygen cylinders was also a matter of concern.

“I am told that 70 PSA units have been allotted to Bengal recently which is likely to take time to be installed. As such, to meet immediate necessity, the current system will have to be strengthened,” she said.

Mamata concluded with the assertion that the battle against Covid-19 would be won with “coordinated and collaborative” efforts of all stakeholders in augmenting infrastructure and earnest drive for universal vaccination free of cost.

“I am looking forward to your kind cooperation in this regard,” she wrote.

Sources in the Trinamul Congress said she was unwilling to start her “government to government” communication in the third term with the belligerence that marked the intense campaign for Bengal and that was why there was that general tone of cooperative federalism.

The chief minister had, earlier in the day, responded to Modi’s tweet congratulating her on Sunday evening, after the trends made her sweep fairly certain. There too, she had spoken of cooperation and working together.

“Thank you @narendramodi ji for your wishes. I look forward to the Centre’s sustained support keeping the best interest of WB in mind,” she wrote on the microblogging site.

“I extend my full cooperation & hope together we can fight this pandemic amid other challenges & set a new benchmark for Centre-State relations,” she added.

In her media interactions during the day, she had

been critical of the BJP, but had not specifically attacked Modi.

“She did not want to come across as a gloating victor, and gave him (Modi) a break on her first day in office. There will be enough fireworks soon as she ups the ante nationally,” said a Trinamul vice-president.

He pointed out how in the slew of responses to congratulatory tweets from major non-BJP leaders from across the country, right after Modi, she underscored how the BJP’s politics of “hatred” and “divisiveness” was booted out by Bengal, and hoped the same would happen across the county.

“Thank you @RahulGandhi ji for your warm wishes. People of Bengal have paved the way for the rest of the country. BJP’s politics of hatred shall be booted out of India very soon,” she wrote in response to the Congress leader, for instance.