Make Vaccination Compulsory for Politicians
Throughout India, a Covaxin revolution is taking place under the leadership of the government. In addition to the distribution of the vaccine, politicians are trying to instill a sense of pride that Covaxin is a ‘Swadeshi’ vaccine. Undoubtedly, it is a matter of pride that the country has produced a vaccine in the face of the Coronavirus that battered the country. But, politicians more than experts are issuing statements about Covaxin. The Centre is spending crores of rupees for Covaxin. In such a situation, it is very important for Covaxin to prove its reliability. The vaccine is being distributed even as a controversy has emerged around the government’s approval for the Covaxin being manufactured by Bharat Biotech even before the third phase of testing could be completed. The government is still not been able to respond adequately to the various questions that doctors and experts have raised regarding the vaccine. Already, it is being reported in the media that Covaxin is causing adverse impact on many of those who have been vaccinated. But, the government that has denied this has clarified that only 0.18 per cent of the vaccinated have been adversely impacted. Of those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, only 0.1 per cent of people have reported fluctuations in their bodies. The Centre has claimed that among these, only 0.002 people have been admitted into hospitals. At the same time, the Centre has regretted that doctors, ayahs, and health workers are refusing to get vaccinated.
One aspect should be observed here. The victims of the coronavirus are upper middle class and upper-class people. While tuberculosis, malaria, and other such diseases targeted the poor and slum dwellers, the coronavirus targeted people belonging to higher classes. The coronavirus entered India through airports from Indians living in foreign countries or those engaged in businesses or having connections with foreign countries and did not haunt the poor. But the lockdown that was imposed to check the spread of the coronavirus had a drastic impact on the poor. The number of people of the lower strata whose lives were destroyed due to the lockdown is far more than the number of upper-class people impacted by the coronavirus. And people from the lowest strata of society never demanded the Centre for the vaccine but asked to be rescued from hunger. “We are not scared of the Coronavirus but are scared of hunger”, migrant labourers said repeatedly and publicly. Ironically, having announced that the vaccine against the coronavirus has been manufactured, the Centre also announced that ‘civic workers will be given priority.’ If the coronavirus was truly a deadly disease, civic workers would have been the first victims. When the entire country was in lockdown and stayed indoors at home, these civic workers were cleaning the streets and collecting garbage without any fear of contracting the disease. They never feared the coronavirus, neither did the virus affect them. No labour organization requested to be vaccinated on priority. In such a situation, the government’s objective in showing its love and prioritizing civic workers for vaccination is clear. The malafide intention of the government to choose civic workers to test the efficacy of the vaccine and stop its distribution if they faced any adverse impact is very clear.
It is being alleged that hundreds of women who volunteered during the pandemic are being forced to be part of the vaccination drive. In Chitradurga, a nurse who refused to be vaccinated was forced by Minister Sriramulu to take the vaccination saying ‘Please take the vaccination. If you hesitate, what about the others’? Sriramulu could have taken the vaccine and encouraged the others to do so. Many politicians have been affected by the coronavirus and politicians mingle with the public in large numbers. Politicians should therefore be vaccinated on priority. In other countries, leaders have been vaccinated first. But, in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet been vaccinated. Not just Modi, no other important leader has come forward to get vaccinated and inspire people. Does it not prove that the leaders who are recommending the vaccine do not have any trust on the efficacy of the vaccine? Moreover, a large number of doctors have refused to be vaccinated. The government has expressed its regret over this. When doctors are refusing the vaccine, how appropriate is it to force people to get vaccinated?
Within two days of the vaccine drive, more than 50 per cent of health workers of six central government hospitals in New Delhi refused to be administered the Bharat Biotech vaccine. Of the identified 1,250 vaccine beneficiaries, a total of 551 health workers reported for vaccination on January 16 and 18. This means only, 44.8 per cent of people have been vaccinated. Of the 81 hospitals in New Delhi, 75 hospitals are run jointly by the Delhi government and private sector. In these hospitals the Covishield vaccine that has been produced by Oxford-Astra Zeneca has been distributed.
India is now divided over the vaccine. One particular vaccine is being distributed for the poor and another for the rich. Until politicians and doctors openly and fearlessly get vaccinated, the common man should not be forced to take it. The government should also not mess with the lives of people only to gain political mileage.
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Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani to be India's next Chief of Defence Staff
New Delhi (PTI): Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani will be India's new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and his key task is set to be to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that seeks to ensure tri-services synergy.
He will succeed Gen Anil Chauhan whose tenure will come to an end on May 30.
Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country's senior-most military commander in September 2022, over nine months after the first CDS, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu.
The government has appointed Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani (Retd) as the Chief of Defence Staff, who will also function as the secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
Lt Gen Subramani is currently serving as the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat.
Prior to that, he was the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025, and was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command from March 2023 till June 2024.
As Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen Subramani's primary task will be to implement the theaterisation model to bring in tri-services synergy by rolling out integrated military commands.
The officer is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the eighth battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985.
Lt Gen Subramani is an alumnus of Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK), and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts degree from King's College London and an MPhil in defence studies from Madras University.
In his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, Lt Gen Subramani has served across a wide spectrum of conflict and terrain profiles and tenanted a host of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
He commanded the 16 Garhwal Rifles in Counter-Insurgency operations in Assam as part of Operation Rhino, the 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, and the 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector, all during a challenging operational environment.
He also has the distinction of commanding two Corps, including the Indian Army's premier strike Corps on the Western Front.
