Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national spokesperson Raghav Chadha has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying there must be a strict India-first rule as citizens'' needs must be given priority over exports to other countries.

Terming vaccine universalisation and vaccine nationalism need of the hour, the AAP MLA in a letter said the Centre has chosen to export over 64 million doses to 84 countries while Indian citizens are desperately looking for a vaccination centre that is still open.

“Central Govt has exported 64million doses to 84countries. I wish to ask the Govt as to what its priority is– people of Delhi or Dominican Republic? Maharashtra or Mauritius? Bengal or Bangladesh? Gujarat or Guyana? Odisha or Oman? Uttar Pradesh or United Kingdom? Kerala or Kenya?,” he said in another tweet.

Chadha urged the government to prioritise vaccinating the entire 135 crore in India before "earning trivial international laurels".

"I urge Government of India to adopt ''vaccine nationalism'', and prioritise vaccinating the entire 135 crore in India before earning trivial international laurels. Do not let vaccination centres shut while doses are being flown out of the country.

 “Countries like the US have even gone to the extent of banning export of not just vaccines but also raw materials used to manufacture vaccines. And here we, despite being a manufacturer of world class vaccines, are gleefully exporting it. We need vaccines now more than ever,” he said in another tweet.

The APP spokesperson further said that it is further alarming to read reports that the Government of India will be exporting nearly 45 million doses to Pakistan in the coming days.

“On one hand, Government of India claims that Pakistan has only exported terrorism to India, on the other hand, we are exporting life-saving vaccines to Pakistan," he said.

Responding to Chadha, Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that the AAP leader Chadha's letter is neither motivated by nationalism nor any serious concern for the youth.

“The letter written by the AAP leader is just a part of his party’s political game to create confusion and make the vaccination process controversial,” he said.

Kapoor said that the centre is committed to speedy vaccination for all and taking steps like prohibiting covid medicine export same as it has banned export of Remdesivir injections on Sunday.