Punjab’s former Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday hit out at the Congress government, accusing it of failing to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Badal stressed the need for speedy vaccination to win the fight against COVID-19, alleging that Punjab was sluggish in its efforts. He requested Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to make a special allocation of ₹1,000 crore to purchase vaccines for the entire State in the next six months.
He also demanded that families who had lost their main earning members be given a monthly pension of ₹6,000. Free education should be given to the children orphaned due to COVID-19, and power and water bills for all should be waived for a six-month period, Mr. Badal said.
Mr. Badal told reporters that the Punjab government should not look to the Centre alone for vaccines but should use State funds to source them quickly on the pattern of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which had procured Covaxin doses within one week of placing the order.
“If need be, the Chief Minister should call an emergency meeting of the Cabinet to clear the proposal for speedy procurement of vaccine doses,” he suggested.
Mr. Badal said the government should make the necessary preparations to cope with a potential third wave of infections.
“The State needs to order at least 2,000 ventilators and install them within three months along with hiring the required staff,” he said.
