Moderna refuses to send vaccines to Punjab, says it only deals with central govt
Chandigarh: US-based COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna has refused to send vaccines directly to the Punjab government stating that it only deals with the Centre, a senior state official said on Sunday.
Punjab's nodal officer for vaccination Vikas Garg said according to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's directions, all vaccine manufacturers were approached for direct purchase of Covid vaccines including Sputnik V, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.
A reply was received only from Moderna wherein the company refused to deal with the state government, he said.
According to Moderna's policy, it deals with the government of India and not with any state government or private parties, the Punjab government said in a statement.
Earlier, CM Singh had directed officials to explore possibilities of floating a global tender for the procurement of vaccines from all possible sources to ensure that people of the state are vaccinated against COVID-19 at the earliest.
Notably, Punjab was forced to stop vaccination for phase 1 and phase 2 categories because of the non-availability of vaccine doses.
All efforts would be made for the procurement of vaccines to meet the acute shortage in the state, which had received fewer than 44 lakh vaccine doses so far from the government of India, the statement said.
From the government of India's allocation for phase 3 (18-44 age group), the state government has been able to buy only 4.2 lakh vaccine doses, including 66,000 received on Saturday, Garg said.
A total of 3.65 lakh have already been used and only 64,000 are left, he said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
