'Tum mujhe vote do, main tumhe vaccine…' Opposition slams BJP's free Covid-19 vaccine pitch for Bihar polls

Nirmala Sitharaman said the first promise in BJP manifesto is that every person in Bihar would get free vaccination

Opposition leaders came down heavily on the BJP’s promise for “free Covid-19 vaccination” promise in the party’s manifesto for Bihar elections, dubbing the announcement as “appalling” and “opportunistic”.

“Tum mujhe vote do, main tumhe vaccine … (you give me votes, I will give vaccine ..)… what appalling cynicism! Will the Election Commission rap her and her shameless government on the knuckles,” asked senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

“So if people of Bihar don’t vote for BJP, PM Modi will deny them vaccines. This is not a democracy, this is tyranny,” Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha said.

He said the people of Bihar will not be intimidated and that no power can deny them their rights. “They will reject the bullies of Delhi with their vote,” Gogoi said.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, releasing the BJP manifesto in Patna, said the first promise in the document is that every person in Bihar would get free vaccination when the Covid-19 vaccine will be available for mass production.

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“The coronavirus vaccine belongs to the nation, not to the BJP. The use of vaccine as a political tool makes it clear that the BJP has no option but to sell the fear of illness and death. The people of Bihar are a self-respecting lot. They do not sell the future of their children for a few paise,” RJD, the key challenger to the JD(U)-BJP alliance in Bihar said.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the BJP wondering why a similar promise was not made in Uttar Pradesh.

“The ruling BJP is saying in its manifesto for Bihar that it will give corona vaccine free for the people of the state. Why such a declaration was not made for Uttar Pradesh and other states. The people of UP and the country will respond to such opportunistic, narrow politics to the BJP in the upcoming elections,” Akhilesh Yadav said.