Congressleader Rahul Gandhi on Monday lashed out at PM Narendra Modi after thelatter’s free vaccine announcement for the people above 18 years of age.
Addressing the nation, the Prime Minister made it clearthat the Central government will provide the vaccine doses free of cost to the states.The centre would handle 25% of the vaccination work with the respective statesand the new policy will come into effect from June 21.
However,the free vaccine announcement did not go well with the Opposition leader RahulGandhi. He took to his verified Twitter handle and asked a simple question toPM Modi.
“Onesimple question-if vaccines are free for all, why should private hospitalscharge for them? #FreeVaccineForAll” tweeted Gandhi.
However,it was not only Rahul Gandhi who attacked PM Modi as another senior Congressleader Jairam Ramesh held the same view.
In histweet Jairam states that Congress had already asked the Centre to formulatethe Centralized vaccine policy to save overwhelming lives amidst the secondwave of coronavirus.
"The Prime Minister inflicted a huge cost on thepeople of India before accepting the Opposition's demand for centralizedprocurement and free vaccination for 18-44-year-olds. Humility and reaching outwill not hurt him," Jairam tweeted.
Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister ManishSisodia of Aam Adami Party (AAP) claimed the Centre was pressurized to bring the new policy as theSupreme Court termed its vaccine pricing policy ‘arbitrary’ and ‘irrational.’
"We will like to thank thehonourable Supreme Court. Due to the court's intervention, all eligible agegroups will now get the vaccines for free. This could have been done earlier ifthe centre wanted. Because of the centre's policy, neither the states were ableto buy vaccines nor the centre was giving vaccines," Sisodia tweeted inHindi.