This government has been both clueless and careless in handling the Covid crisis. Its careless ways border on criminal negligence. Its unpreparedness in dealing with the second wave of Covid-19 has exposed its utter disdain for the concerns of those afflicted and those likely to be affected in days to come. Yet, I must admire the energy our prime minister has showcased in the electoral battle for West Bengal and Assam. However, that energy is woefully missing in the nation’s battle to deal with a pandemic that has thus far cost almost two lakh lives.
Healthcare and education are the foundation of human empowerment. Both have been neglected by this government since 2014. India’s gross national expenditure on research and development has been stagnant at 0.7% of GDP in comparison to Israel (4.6%) South Korea (4.5%), Japan (3.2%), Germany (3%), the US (2.8%), France (2.2%), China (2.1%) and Brazil (1.3%). This is so when India’s per capita GDP is far lower when compared to developed economies. In healthcare, we should be discovering molecules through R&D rather than becoming the factory of the world for drugs discovered by others. Our global ranking in the 2019 EU Industrial R&D scorecard is abysmal. Only 13 Indian entities figure in the list of 2,500 entities included in the scorecard. Absent massive public support for R&D to both public and private enterprises in healthcare, we will find ourselves dependent on others for both vaccines and drugs. We will be clueless when confronted with a health emergency like the present.
How can we ever be proud of a nation that cannot even provide oxygen to save lives? It is the most fundamental of all human needs. A state that cannot provide for its supply in emergencies is akin to a failed state. The fact that supply of oxygen has become a subject matter of quotas shows the utter insensitivity of an establishment that never thought of tomorrow in pandemic times. Today, the BJP and the government are obsessed only with the task of decimating the opposition. The carelessness with which this government has approached the Covid crisis is a saga of failures.
It all started with the sudden belated ill-conceived lockdown the prime minister announced on 24 March 2020. Lakhs of migrants desperate to reach home were stranded without hope. An uncaring government failed to provide them adequate facilities, both in terms of food, shelter and transportation to help them reach home. The tragic stories of their ‘journey home’ are yet to be told. Yet our government failed to prepare for the next wave of the pandemic. When it came, it was caught napping.
Any enlightened and alert administration should have done the following. One, test all its people. Two, ensure adequate stocks of vaccines for all (the UK, US and Israel had already planned for stockpiles to be used when needed. Vaccine manufacturers were already locked into contracts with countries for sufficient stockpiles). Three, increase capacities for production of vaccines within the country. We relied on SII’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to meet our needs. They too were not funded to ramp up capacity. Four, procure or provide for a mechanism that allows our citizens access to vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna, Sputnik and Johnson & Johnson. Five, allow all to be vaccinated by WHO-cleared vaccines under emergency conditions. None of this was planned.
Though the government was ill-prepared for adequate supply of vaccines, emergency measures should have been put in place in advance for creating facilities for the next wave of the pandemic given the evidence of it in other countries. For that, the state should have provided for testing facilities as and when needed. Next, there should have been provision of enough ICU and CCU beds in hospitals. Supply of oxygen wherever and whenever needed should also have been geared up. Yet none of this was planned for the current eventuality. The second wave is spreading panic and those afflicted are facing crippling shortage of required medical care.
Instead we saw members of the ruling party saying “Kumbh ki aastha coronavirus se bahut badi hai” (faith of Kumbh is above coronavirus). The chief minister of Uttarakhand said, “Nobody will be stopped in the name of Covid-19 as we are sure that the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus.” Ironically, Rawat himself was found to be Covid-19 positive a few days thereafter. The hunger for power was so great that the Assam health minister in public meetings stated that “there is no need to wear a mask” in the state. Our prime minister, apart from addressing public meetings, also welcomed people to the Kumbh, knowing fully well that in such gatherings, neither social distancing nor wearing of masks could be monitored.
The ‘Tablighi villains’ were demonised by the media and the BJP. There are no villains today. Elections cannot wait. Maybe, they felt, the virus can! The result: 3,49,691 coronavirus cases as of April 24, the highest one-day tally ever, globally. Maharashtra and Delhi are witnessing the highest-ever one-day spikes.
Today, the pyres of those who have fallen victim to the pandemic continue to burn. Hospitals have officially complained about the non-availability of oxygen for their patients. People are waiting for supply of oxygen for their family members who are in ICU. Cylinders of the dead are being snatched by family members to provide succour to those who are still alive. Those in power are merrily campaigning for victory.
I remember Modi’s speech in Varanasi on 23 September 2017 when he said, “I belong to a different school of thought. I do not think of vote bank. For me, my country is bigger than my party. For us, governance is not about politics or winning elections. Our priority lies in the well-being of the nation”. We now know the truth. He belongs to a different school of thought where vote bank politics is higher than the well-being of the nation.
Kapil Sibal
(Tweets @KapilSibal)
Senior lawyer, Congress leader and member of Rajya Sabha