PANAJI
The Goa Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic challenge and in particular the vaccine push.
But legislators from the Opposition nonetheless raised questions over Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’, one of the two vaccines produced in India.
Goa Forward Party’s Vijai Sardessai quoted medical journal Lancet where lack of transparency in putting results and findings of stage II and stage III trials of Covaxin are questioned.
Sardesai said, if Covaxin vaccination impacts negatively on people, it will give rise to a bigger problem. Quoting the example of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he suggested that political leaders and MLAs should take the jab first and help build public confidence in the world’s largest vaccination programme.
He also lamented that Goa stood at 23rd place among 29 States in India in vaccine coverage.
BJP MLA from Shiroda Subhash Shirodkar and Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte jointly moved the resolution.
Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho sang praises of Modi even as he chided the Opposition MLAs for passing judgements over the pandemic management when there were no benchmarks.
Godinho said even advanced nations like USA and UK have been hit worse than India which is a measure of Modi’s success in the Covid crisis handling.
Praising the vaccine push, Godinho said: “Except Pakistan, all our neighbours are using our vaccine (Covaxin). Even Brazil is using the vaccine.”
The Transport Minister even went on to praise Modi’s much-ridiculed “clap” and “bang thalis/utensils” campaigns saying these were aimed at ‘public awareness’ creation.
Khaunte who was co-sponsor of the motion, urged the government to refrain from propagating a “false sense of confidence” about Covaxin.
“I request the CM to ensure that all 40 MLAs should take the vaccine first, only then people will get confidence to get themselves vaccinated,” Khaunte said, adding that MLAs were being asked by people why they (MLAs) were not the first ones taking the jab.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant thanked Modi for clamping a lockdown which helped Covid-19 cases in India to remain at the minimum.
“We are sad that more than 700 have died. But we have also managed to save more than 50,000,” Sawant said and urged all to stand together in these times.
