‘Can’t trust BJP vaccine, won’t take it for now’
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday termed the Covid-19 vaccine to be rolled out in the country as “vaccine of the BJP” and said he would not take the shot for now, drawing a sharp retort from the ruling party which accused him of “insulting” the doctors and scientists. “I am not going to get vaccinated for now. How can I trust BJP’s vaccine? When our government will be formed (in the state in 2022), everyone will get free vaccine. We cannot take BJP’s vaccine,” he told media persons.
LUCKNOW : Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday termed the Covid-19 vaccines to be rolled out in the country as “vaccine of the BJP” and said he would not take the shot for now, drawing a sharp retort from the ruling party which accused him of “insulting” the doctors and scientists.
“I am not going to get vaccinated for now. How can I trust BJP’s vaccine? When our government will be formed (in the state in 2022), everyone will get free vaccine. We cannot take BJP’s vaccine,” he told media persons at a press conference held at the SP state headquarters here on being asked about the dry run of the vaccine at 259 vaccination centres in 116 districts of the country.
His remarks evoked an instant rebuttal from UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who termed the statement an “insult to the doctors and scientists of the country”.
“Akhilesh Yadav does not have trust in the vaccine, and people of Uttar Pradesh do not have trust in Akhilesh Yadav. His raising questions on the vaccine is an insult to doctors and scientists of the country. He should tender an apology,” Maurya told reporters.
Later, following BJP attack on him, Akhilesh tweeted in Hindi: “We have full faith on scientists’ abilities but we do not have faith in BJP unscientific thinking of clanging plates, clapping and the medical set-up for vaccine. The medical set-up stayed paralysed during the Covid time. We will not take BJP’s political vaccine. the SP government will do free vaccination”.
Making a similar statement in December 2019, the SP president had said he would not fill in NPR (national population register) form. Akhilesh said during the press conference, “Why coldchain and refrigerators for vaccine now? This government was warding off Covid by clanging plates, claps, and hovering helicopters over hospitals.”
The SP president held the press conference on the sidelines of an event in which religious leaders from Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities from Ayodhya gathered together to extend support to him and his party for 2022 UP assembly polls. Akhilesh also announced that when his government returned to power in UP, it would exempt people of Ayodhya from paying civic taxes including house and water taxes.