PUT PM MODI’S PHOTO ON DEATH CERTIFICATES TOO: BJP ALLY MANJHI

Jitan Ram Manjhi, the chief of one of the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) partners in Bihar, Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), set off a political storm on Monday when he said that like vaccination certificates, death certificates of Covid-19 victims should also carry the photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“If you are so fond of putting photograph on the vaccine certificate, then the photo should be put on the death certificate too. Only this will be fair,” the former Bihar chief minister posted on Twitter. The tweet was later deleted. His deleted tweet follows one on Sunday, when he said that it would have been more appropriate to have a photograph of the President, or the respective chief ministers.

HAM-S spokesperson Danish Rizwan said: “Not 1% of the population of Dalit and Advisasis have been vaccinated yet because they are afraid... Putting the picture of the President, who is also a Dalit, will inspire them.”

Taking note of the tweet, the state’s opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari suggested that HAM-S quit the NDA alliance. “If you are against the autocratic system, come out of it, otherwise people will think that you are issuing statements to be in the news,”