New Delhi, Oct 22 (UNI) With India achieving the significant milestone of 100 Covid vaccinations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the vaccine drive was an example of what the country can achieve if the citizens and the government come together with a common goal in the spirit of 'Jan Bhagidari'.
He highlighted how sceptics of the vaccine programme have been proven wrong.
The Prime Minister, in an op-ed titled "Team India-Responding to Adversity with Achievement", said the 100 crore mark could be achieved because of "Team India", which consists of 130 crore Indians.
"In my Independence Day Address in 2015, I had said that our country is mov-ing ahead because of ‘Team India’ and this ‘Team India’ is a big team of our 130 crore people. People’s participation is the biggest strength of democracy. If we run the country through the participation of 130 crore Indians, our country will be moving ahead 130 crore steps every moment," the Prime Minister said.
"Our vaccination drive has yet again showed the power of this ‘Team India’. India’s success in its vaccination drive has also demonstrated to the whole world that democracy can deliver," he said.
The Prime Minister, in his op-ed also took upon the critics of the vaccination program, and said there were many who doubted the capabilities of 130 crore Indians.
"Some said India would take 3-4 years. Some others said people will not come forward to get vaccinated. There were those who said there will be gross mismanagement and chaos in the vaccination process. Some even said that India will not be able to manage supply chains. But just like the Janta Curfew and subsequent lockdowns, the people of India showed how spectacular the results can be, if they are made trusted partners," he said.
In his over a thousand word op-ed, the Prime Minister also called it a journey from "anxiety to assurance".
"Journey from anxiety to assurance has happened and our nation has emerged stronger, thanks to the world’s largest vaccination drive," he said.
He said in a nation where governments used to be known as a "roadblock impeding forward movement", the present government has been an "accelerator and enabler of progress" .
He said the government partnered with the vaccine makers right from day one and gave them support in the form of institutional assistance, scientific research, funding, as well as accelerated regulatory processes.
"All ministries of the government came together to facilitate the vaccine makers and remove any bottlenecks as a result of our ‘whole of Government’ approach."
The Prime Minister highlighted that it took India nine months since starting vaccination to achieve the 100 crore vaccination mark.
"This has been a tremendous journey in dealing with Covid-19, especially when we recall how things stood in early 2020," he said.
He also said people showed trust in the vaccines, despite various efforts to create panic.
"For any effort to attain and sustain speed and scale, trust of all stakeholders is crucial. One of the reasons for the success of the campaign was the trust that people developed in the vaccine and the process followed, despite various efforts to create mistrust and panic," he said.
"When everyone takes ownership, nothing is impossible. Our healthcare workers traversed hills and crossed rivers across difficult geographies to vaccinate people. Our youth, social workers, healthcare workers, social and religious leaders, all deserve credit for the fact that India faces minimal vaccine hesitancy when compared to even developed nations," he said.
He also said the government ensured there was no "VIP culture" in the vaccination drive.
"There was a lot of pressure from different interest groups to give preferential treatment to them in vaccination. But the Government ensured that, like our other schemes, there is no VIP culture in the vaccination drive either," he said.
He added that he is "optimistic that the success achieved in the world’s largest vaccination drive will further spur our youth, our innovators and all levels of government to set new benchmarks of public service delivery which will be a model not only for our country, but also for the world".
India on Thursday crossed another significant milestone in its battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, as it touched 100 crore Covid vaccination figure. This includes both the first and second doses.
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