'Does he not read?': Union ministers hit back at Rahul Gandhi over vaccine tweet

New Delhi, July 02: Two union ministers today hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his jibe at the Centre saying it is July and there are still no vaccines in India.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan slammed Rahul Gandhi for "not reading" and sidestepped any further discussion on vaccination by accusing him of "arrogance".

"Just yesterday, I put out facts on vaccine availability for the month of July. What is Rahul Gandhiji's problem? Does he not read? Does he not understand? There is no vaccine for the virus of arrogance and ignorance!! Congress must think of a leadership overhaul!" Dr Vardhan said.

Responding to Gandhi's question, Union minister Piyush Goyal clarified that 120 milliOn vaccine doses will be made available in July, of which states have already been informed in advance.

"12 crore vaccine doses will be available in July - separate from supply to pvt hospitals. States have been informed about supply 15 days back. Rahul Gandhi should understand that petty politics, instead of seriousness, is not right in the fight against COVID," tweeted Goyal in Hindi.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi posted this one line: "July has come, the vaccine has not arrived."

At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said 41.60 lakh Covid vaccine doses were administered on July 1 while a total of 6.85 crore jabs have been given between June 21 and July 1 with an average daily dose of over 62 lakh.

These statistics tell a different story and show that the government has been working on a ''war footing'' to give vaccines to people, he said, adding that the pace of vaccination will gather more speed in the coming days. Is there any country with a better average in the last 11 days, he asked, adding that India by administering over 34 crore doses has surpassed countries like the US, Canada, and others. The central government has begun providing free vaccines to all adults since June 21.

''While the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving citizens safety shield in form of vaccines, the Congress and some other opposition parties do not want India to defeat Covid,'' Bhatia claimed.