Amid India logging a record 4 lakh new Covid-19 infections and 3,523 fatalities during the last 24 hours, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday urged the Centre to formulate a national policy to contain the spread of the virus.
Urging the Central and state governments to fulfil their duties and fight the second covid wave, Gandhi said that the Covid-19 vaccines must be provided free of cost to all citizens.
The Congress president’s remarks come on a day when India launched the third phase of the countrywide inoculation drive to vaccinate all adults against Covid-19.
Gandhi further sought compulsory licensing to ramp up vaccine production to speed up the country's inoculation drive.
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"I urge the central government to evolve a national policy to deal with the COVID crisis in the country and bring about a political consensus over it," the Congress president said.
"This is the time for central and state governments to wake up and fulfil their duties," she added.
Gandhi also urged the Centre to deposit Rs 6,000 in the account of every poor family to help them tide over the current crisis.
She also called for increasing testing and and urged the Centre to check black marketing of essential life-saving drugs.
Gandhi said the Congress party will stand with the Centre in the fight against the pandemic and appealed to all Indians to unite in these testing times.
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(With PTI inputs)
