Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejrwal inaugurated new flyovers in the national capital
New Delhi:
The coronavirus vaccine, when it is finally ready, should be available to all Indians for free, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday amid ongoing controversy over the ruling BJP that includes free Covid vaccines. in his manifesto for next week’s Bihar elections.
“The whole country should get the vaccine for free, the whole country has the right …” Mr Kejriwal said today, inaugurating a new overpass in the Shastri Park and Seelampur neighborhoods of Delhi.
This is the second time that the head of the AAP has spoken out on the subject. Earlier, Kejriwal’s party attacked the BJP and asked if Indians who did not vote for them would also receive free vaccinations.
On Thursday, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the “first promise mentioned in our election manifesto” was that everyone in Bihar would receive free vaccines against the coronavirus.
The promise of the Bihar poll was greeted with surprise and outrage by opposition leaders and others, leaving the BJP rejecting allegations that it was using the promise of a vaccine, for a fatal infectious disease that has already killed more. of a lakh of people in India alone. for your political agenda.
Despite the criticism that followed, Congressional MP Rahul Gandhi, Southern actor and politician Kamal Haasan and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah were among those who attacked the BJP, Tamil Nadu (where the BJP is allied with the ruling AIADMK) and Madhya Pradesh (where the party has sole power) also promised free vaccines.
The initially quiet BJP later responded through Bihar leader Bhupender Yadav, who said the vaccine would be available at a nominal cost, which states could choose to pay for. Yadav lashed out at Congress for a “desperate” attempt to misrepresent Sitharaman’s statement.
The search for a viable Covid vaccine has become the focus of headlines around the world.
India has recorded more than 78 lakh cases since the pandemic began in China in December last year. Only the United States, with nearly 85 lakh cases, has more.
Delhi has recorded more than 3.48 lakhs of COVID-19 cases so far, of which around 6,000 are deaths related to the virus. The number of active cases in the national capital surpassed the 26,000 mark on Friday, after a steady increase in new infections over the past 10 days.
The city recorded more than 4,000 cases in 24 hours yesterday, the first time this mark has been broken since Sept. 19. With the start of the holiday season, experts fear another explosion of cases.
Earlier this week, Covaxin, the vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and one of three candidates being tested in the country, was approved for the third and final phase of clinical trials.
Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured “fast” access to the vaccine for all and suggested to officials that they apply the lessons of the successful conduct of national elections in India to ensure delivery and distribution of the vaccine.
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