Fadnavis under fire as nephew gets vaccine

Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis Monday drew flak after photos of his 22-year-old nephew getting the Covid-19 vaccination surfaced on social media.

In an Instagram post, Tanmay Fadnavis shared a photo of him getting the jab. According to people familiar with the matter, Tanmay received the first dose of the vaccine in Mumbai and the second dose at the National Cancer Institute in Nagpur.

After the photos were widely shared on social media, several leaders questioned how the 22-year-old received the vaccine since only frontline or health care workers, and those over the age of 45 are eligible to receive the doses.

Congress leader and Maharashtra minister Nitin Raut demanded an inquiry into the matter. “When eligible persons (45+) are struggling for vaccination, how can a relative of a BJP leader who is barely 22 years old get it,” he asked. He said that persons involved in such “favouritism” should be dealt with sternly and be booked.

When contacted, Fadnavis’s office expressed surprise. “Even we were shocked when it appeared in social media as to how a 22-year-old boy got vaccinated,” said Ketan Pathak, who works in the media cell at the Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s office. Tanmay’s grandmother Shobhatai Fadnavis, who is a senior BJP leader, said, “Is it a sin to get a vaccine?”