Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that he was not going to get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) for now, as “the BJP government cannot be trusted.” “I am not going to get vaccinated for now. How can I trust the BJP vaccine? When our government is formed, everyone will get the vaccine for free. We cannot take the BJP vaccine, ”said the SP president.
Yadav also attacked the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh for its handling of the pandemic. “Why use cold chains and refrigerators for vaccines now? This government was protecting Covid by sounding plaques, applause and helicopters hovering over hospitals, ”he said while addressing the media at a press conference at the party’s Lucknow office.
Shortly after the statements of the head of the SP, the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Anurag Thakur, told the ANI news agency: “Akhilesh Yadav’s statement that ‘he will not be vaccinated because it is a BJP vaccine’ is very unfortunate … What could be more? unfortunate for a young leader to link the Covid-19 vaccine to a political party. It shows that Akhilesh Yadav cannot think above politics. “
Yadav addressed the press conference on the sidelines of an event where religious leaders from Ayodhya’s Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities came together to support him and his party. Before the state assembly elections scheduled for 2022, the head of the SP announced that he would withdraw civic taxes (water, house, sewerage) for the people of Ayodhya. “It is the land of Maryada Purshottam Ram. It is a religious place. If this government does not withdraw civic taxes, our government will. ” He added that he was a religious person and had a temple at home, outside, and had built one inside the prime minister’s residence when he was prime minister.
In the run-up to the elections, Yadav had said earlier this week that his party would return to power in the UP in a “historic turnaround” in 2022 and then withdraw all cases brought against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). and the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) protesters.
The SP leader’s comments on the vaccine come on a day when the Covid-19 vaccination test is being carried out in 259 vaccination centers in 116 districts of the country. The immunization campaign on Saturday follows after the exercise took place on December 28 and 29 in four states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Punjab.
Earlier in the day, the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan announced that in the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination, a free nationwide vaccine will be provided to most of the priority beneficiaries, They include one crore of healthcare and two crore frontline workers.
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