Punjab got more remdesivir than Uttar Pradesh: Hardeep Singh Puri

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 18

The BJP today highlighted several decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Punjab in the “true spirit of cooperative federalism” to attack Opposition parties, which often accuse the central government of “overriding powers of states”.

Citing the example of Punjab and Assam, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the population of both states was roughly similar while Uttar Pradesh had a population of around 20 crore.

“My team did an analysis and found out that the number of remdesivir supplied by the Centre per hundred thousand people in Assam was 323 and UP 264. Punjab, on the other hand, was given 632 doses per hundred thousand people, which is almost double as compared to Assam and Uttar Pradesh,” he said, adding that this might not be an indicator as many states also procured it themselves “but for anyone to suggest that they have been short-changed or denied the legitimate share is a falsification”.

The Centre recently sanctioned medical oxygen plants for 41 locations in Punjab under the PM Cares Fund, Puri said, taking a swipe at the Capt Amarinder Singh government in the state over its alleged profiteering by selling Covid vaccines to private hospitals.

“Congress leaders are not on the same page. Some of them think profiteering on centrally supplied medicines is legitimate. The health minister of Punjab claimed he had nothing to do with this scam,” he said.