Image Courtesy: deccanherald.com
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who has served as under Secretary General of the United Nations, has continued to keep the spotlight on India’s export of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and other drugs, to the United States of America, in face of a possible ‘retaliation’ if the earlier ban continued.
Today, on April 8, Tharoor bounced the ball back in the court of US President Trump and asked him to give something back in return for HCQ, “Mr President @realDonaldTrump, since India has selflessly agreed to give you the supply you seek of hydroxychloroquine, will you grant India first priority in sharing with us any #COVID19 vaccine that might be developed in US labs?”
Mr President @realDonaldTrump, since India has selflessly agreed to give you the supply you seek of hydroxychloroquine, will you grant India first priority in sharing with us any #COVID19 vaccine that might be developed in US labs? @USAndIndia @USAmbIndia @PMOIndia https://t.co/M7Pze4d9CC
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 8, 2020
On April 7, he had also taken on Trump’s claim on the medication, “Never in my decades of experience in world affairs have I heard a Head of State or Govt openly threatening another like this. What makes Indian hydroxychloroquine ‘our supply’, Mr President? It only becomes your supply when India decides to sell it to you.” he said.
Senior Congress leader and its working committee member Randeep Singh Surjewala, had reflected a collective ire against the Centre’s decision to restart exporting hydroxychloroquine after US Presidents said he may ‘retaliate’ if India did not comply. Surejewala’s short video that he posted on social media sums up the collective reaction Of the Opposition, as well as many citizens who were taken aback at how swiftly the ban was lifted on the slightest pressure from Trump.
Dear Prime Minister,
“India First” & “Indians First” is the “Raj Dharma” before you open the export of life saving drug, hydroxychloroquine!
Follow Smt. Indira Gandhi’s template.#COVID2019
Our statement-: pic.twitter.com/Wn3NVHnsSz— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 7, 2020
Lifting the ban, Opposition parties have said that was a betrayal of Indians whose needs for medicines should be priorities before any exports are allowed. “No one can browbeat, pressurize or intimidate India. Smt. Indira Gandhi laid the template for future governments. In fight against #COVID, Indian have a first right over life saving drug hydroxychloroquine! Time to follow “Raj Dharma” & “India First” policy!” posted Surjewala.
Prime Minister Modi’s quick response to the US President’s statement is seen as a sign of weakness by many. Indian political leaders have said that the PM should have, in fact, stood up to the US president’s intimidating words. According to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, the statement by the US President was unacceptable and PM Modi had, “succumbed to the threat by allowing the export. That this happened after an expensive gala was organised for him by Modi, instead of preparing to contain Covid-19, shows how this government has let down India.”
The statement by US President is unacceptable. But Modi govt has succumbed to the threat by allowing the export. That this happened after an expensive gala was organised for him by Modi, instead of preparing to contain Covid-19, shows how this govt has let down India. https://t.co/3g1K4Q0bfi
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 7, 2020
According to news reports, Yechury also said that India should prioritise the medical requirements of Indians first as the nation is fighting against Covid-19 pandemic. He said that India could not afford to risk any “shortages of crucial drugs here. There are no compromises in this struggle to protect Indian lives.”
Senior leaders, who themselves have been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic in their own states have also criticised the fact that the ban was lifted without even consulting state governments. According to a report in the Hindu, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has criticized the export of HCQ and said PPEs and other lifesaving equipment has also been exported by the Indian government recently. “A huge number of PPEs and ventilators were exported in the last few days. No details of this have been provided by the Centre yet. This is beyond our understanding,” he said. All the equipment, specially PPEs need to be stockpiled as the Coronavirus pandemic progresses to the next stages across India. According to Gehlot, the Rajasthan government may have to import PPEs from China to combat the shortfall. “It is a question of life and death. The Centre will have to consider all the aspects. We have to save the lives of people. That should be the first priority,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi and President Trump have always showcased their interactions at massive political events, in India recently and in America before that, as ‘friendship’ between two nations. However is this the time to be friendship, or responsible leadership, is what many are asking.
Why would Trump even mention ‘relailation if he was a friend of India?’ was a point raised. Congress’s media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala had said Trump has no right to threaten India or put pressure on Prime Minister Modi to lift the ban on import. “We hope Modi will take diplomatic measures against such language used by the US President and ensure the safety of Indians,” Surjewala said.
News reports quoted Congress leader and Member of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi saying that retaliation should not be a factor, “India must help all nations in their hour of need but lifesaving medicines should be made available to Indians in ample quantities first,” he said.
The demand for the drug in the US has been fueled by the president himself mentioning it as a possible cure. However, leading american scientists, including White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci, said the reports that the drug might work were “anecdotal, and said there needs to be further study before its use is encouraged.”
According to Bloomberg Indian manufacturers exported and fulfilled around 47% of hydroxychloroquine requirements of the U.S, last year. This would have come to a standstill after the ban on the anti-malaria drug that had been “touted by President Donald Trump as a “game changer” for treating the coronavirus” said the report.
India’s export ban, it explained, was aimed at ensuring enough domestic supply for Indians to use. Trump’s personal endorsement of HCQ had set off a massive stockpiling of the anti-malaria medication around the world, said another Bloomberg report. Many countries had banned exports of various items, from food grains, to masks, to certain medication and equipment, to prioritise and meet domestic needs and demands first.
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