Emphasizing it is important to roll out rapid vaccination programme for people of the State before elections Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that Government of West Bengal has decided to procure adequate number of vaccines for members of the public at large.
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“We would request to kindly take up the matter appropriate authorities so that the State government is able to purchase the vaccines from designated point(s) on top priority basis because the West Bengal government wants to provide vaccination free of cost to all,” Ms. Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister.
The letter from the Chief Minister comes the very day Centre has announced that people above 60 years of age and those over 45 with comorbidities will be given COVID-19 vaccination from March 1 .
In the letter, Ms. Banerjee emphasised that “ West Bengal being an election-going State , we are required to reach out practically to every government and para statal employee on an urgent basis to make the election safe”. She also added that “worrying point is that, in the ensuing elections, the people in general will be forced to go to the polling stations without any vaccination coverage”.
The development also triggered strong reactions from political parties in Opposition who said that there should not be any politics over vaccination. CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said that vaccination is a matter concerning health and wellbeing of people and of more important than electioneering.
