Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said that while the Centre is “bloody slogging”, states have “chickened out” of their responsibility to counter swine flu, which has so far claimed 44 lives in the country and 1,800 worldwide.
The charge evoked criticism from the states with Gujarat health minister JN Vyas telling him to mind his language.
The drama unfolded during the conference of state health ministers and health secretaries to review the H1N1 preparedness and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
Azad said the states had failed to rise to the occasion at the time of the pandemic. “States seem to have forgotten their duty. While we at the Centre are bloody slogging till late night, states are taking it easy. All my officers and I are sitting till midnight to monitor the situation, but the states wind up their offices by 6pm and leave everything on us,” said Azad. The Union health minister said health is a state subject, but “of late, it has become the Centre’s baby”.
“Instead of pumping more money into the health sector, states have chickened out of their responsibilities. They are to be blamed for not doing enough to control the spread of H1N1. We have been shouldering this burden all alone but now states have to be active and shed lethargy,” the minister said.
Azad’s statement drew sharp reaction from Vyas. “Mr Azad, you are a federal minister and we look at you for help and guidance. How can you speak about us like this? We are not here to listen to such kind of language from you. This is unacceptable. We (states) have our own problems. We look forward to the Centre’s cooperation,” Vyas snapped.
Even Azad’s own minister of state Dinesh Trivedi felt that his remarks were very harsh.
Realising that he had gone a bit far while expressing his anguish, Azad tried to clarify: “I am only saying that some states had not done enough. I am not talking about all states,” Azad said.
But Vyas didn’t buy this argument. “The health minister spoke to us as if he was the headmaster of a school and we were his students. It doesn’t look nice for the health minister of the country to talk like this,” Vyas later told the media.
Azad’s unhappiness with the states was evident throughout his speech. “In some states it is easier to get their chief ministers than their health ministers,” Azad said.
The Centre is also thinking of making Tamiflu available in the open market through selected retailers and hospitals. “States should identify private institutions that can be roped in for distribution of Tamiflu in case the situation goes out of control. Keep the list of private institutions and chemists ready so that they can be immediately activated once we allow from the Centre,” Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said.
