Is vaccine for all or not, can PM clarify his stand? asks Rahul

Launching a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (December 3) questioned him about the discrepancies in statements made by him, the BJP and his government regarding the COVID-19 vaccination.

In a tweet, the former Congress president asked Modi which one of the statements he stands by – his own that everyone will be vaccinated, the promise made by the BJP to inoculate everyone during the Bihar polls; or the recent statement by the Centre that the entire population may not be vaccinated.

“PM- Everyone will get vaccine. BJP in Bihar elections- Everyone in Bihar will get free vaccine. Now, GOI- Never said everyone will get vaccine. Exactly what does the PM stand by?” Rahul tweeted.

The government on Tuesday (December 1) said that it will prioritise on vaccinating only a “critical mass” of the population to break the chain of transmission, while clarifying that it never promised to inoculate the entire country.

It was contradictory to the BJP’s pre-poll promise in Bihar – to provide free COVID-19 vaccination to all, made by Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Related news: No plan to vaccinate the entire population against COVID-19: Centre

Prime Minister Modi in an interview with Economic Times in October had assured that everyone will be vaccinated when a vaccine is ready. He, however gave the caveat that the most vulnerable and frontline workers may be the first ones to be inoculated first.