Bihar Assembly election: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel hits out BJP over free vaccine promise

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also says the poll promise implies that citizens of the States where elections are not being held will have to pay for the vaccine

Updated - October 22, 2020 05:04 pm IST - Raipur

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. File

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. File

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on October 22 accused the BJP of politicising public health by promising free COVID-19 vaccine in its manifesto for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

Also read: Bihar Assembly elections | BJP promises free COVID-19 vaccine in its manifesto

Mr. Baghel also said the poll promise implies that citizens of the States where elections are not being held will have to pay for the vaccine.

“NDA manifesto says free vaccine for Biharis. This is a poll promise BJP and JDU have made. Note: A Manifesto is a list of promises to be delivered If the govt comes to power then they are politicising health of citizens with #VaccineElectionism,” Mr. Baghel tweeted.

“With this poll promise @bjp4india has implied that the citizens of other non election states will have to pay for the vaccine,” the Chief Minister said in another tweet.

Chhattisgarh Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo also slammed the BJP for its poll promise and demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) take cognisance of the matter.

Also read:  Bihar Assembly elections | Congress to stress need for change

“Free Covid vaccine is a right of every citizen of my country. Surprised to see this being pitched as a poll promise by BJP in Bihar,” the Minister tweeted.

“The @ECISVEEP must take suo moto cognisance as the Modi Govt can’t be selective about free access to Covid Vaccine depending on electoral results,” he added.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 22 released the BJP’s manifesto for the Bihar Assembly polls with a slew of promises, including free COVID-19 vaccine once it has been cleared by the ICMR.

Also read:  Nitish Kumar is the face of the NDA, there is no credible alternative: Bashishtha Narayan Singh

“The NDA government in Bihar has set an example before the country in the fight against corona. It’s our resolve that once the vaccine against the coronavirus has been cleared by the ICMR, we will make it available to the people of Bihar free of cost,” said the manifesto.

Assembly polls in Bihar will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and November 7.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.