A day after Brazil decided to suspend the $320 million contract to procure 20 million doses of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin to probe allegations of irregularities in the deal, including the price of $15 per dose, the Congress on Friday demanded that the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan should break their silence on the issue.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said: "Indians have the first right on vaccines being made and manufactured here and the government, which is buying vaccines at pre-determined prices from Serum Institute of India (SII) or Bharat Biotech, needs to answer the question of how some export deals still continue."
Noting Indian vaccines are "at the centre of huge controversy", she cited the case of Covaxin in Brazil.
"We are perhaps staring at a cancellation of the contract, the Senate is probing into this, two criminal investigative agencies are now probing into this and the taint comes all the way to the ICMR also because it is a co-developer of the vaccine... it is not just Bharat Biotech, which is a private entity," Shrinate said.
She said that it is important to raise these questions, because Bharat Biotech may be a private entity, but "public fund was diverted for the development of this vaccine, tax payers money was put into this and which is why we have a right to question".
"What has happened with that money and why is the government conspicuously silent on it," she asked.
Shrinate noted that Bharat Biotech got into an agreement with Precisa Medicamentos of Brazil and they had signed a contract to supply 20 million doses.