Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 27 (IANS): Union Minister V. Muraleedharan on Tuesday accused the Pinarayi Vijayan government of foul play in vaccine distribution across Kerala, saying that it is being manipulated to help the private healthcare facilities.

Muraleedharan alleged that this is taking place at a time when the state's Covid cases have touched a new high.

As many as 21,890 people were detected positive for Covid on Monday, while the total active cases in the state have climbed to 2,32,812, the highest single-day count so far.

The Union Minister alleged that on the one hand Vijayan is crying foul and attacking the Centre for not providing adequate Covid vaccine doses, "On the other hand one wishes to know why is the CoWIN application not working the way it should be. All wish to know if this is a ploy to help the private healthcare sector who will make Rs 250 per vaccine dose," said Muraleedharan.

"When Vijayan should have ensured that there is a proper supply of vaccines through the state-run health clinics, he is least bothered to find out why is the CoWIN app not working properly.

In fact, when the media asked him about the improper functioning of the app, all that he repeated was a line from a popular film (it will be set right very soon)," he added.

In the past few days, the vaccine sites have witnessed a huge rush and chaos, with people saying these vaccination centres would soon turn into Covid hotspots.

"I have been trying to get an appointment for my second vaccine dose against coronavirus, but there is no slot available at all. Something seems to have gone wrong somewhere and no one has an answer to this," a beneficiary said.