Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday he would not have the coronavirus disease vaccine (Covid-19) administered, adding the preference should be given to those who come under the priority categories.
“I have decided that I will not get vaccinated for now. First it should be administered to others. My turn should come afterwards. We have to work to ensure that priority groups are administered with the vaccine,” Chouhan said, according to news agency ANI.
The senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) commented a day after the approval of the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines by Drug Controller General of India VG Somani, one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and the other by the local company Bharat Biotech.
Shortly after the approval of the two vaccines, Congress leaders Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh expressed questions on Sunday about the grant of approval for restricted use of Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine, saying it is “premature” and may be risky.
The leaders then drew flak from Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and JP Nadda, the senior BJP leader, who said the opposition was headed by the Congress is filled with anger, ridicule and disdain.
In a tweet, Puri said, “Our in-house cynics M/s Jairam, Tharoor & Akhilesh are behaving true to form. They first questioned the valour of our soldiers & are now unhappy that the two vaccines to get DCGI nod are made in India. Clearly, they are on a quest for permanent political marginalization.”
“So says the in-house Goebbels-cum-Albert Speer,” Jairam Ramesh answered. Both Goebbels and Speer were close allies of Hitler’s German dictator.
Tharoor, a Congress MP and former Union minister, also countered Puri, saying he had never doubted the valour of our soldiers. “I would be happy and proud if more Indian vaccines are approved — but only after a full 3-phase trial confirms they are safe & effective. Short-circuiting the process is unprecedented, inadvisable & risks lives
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