Govt making 'U-turn' on PM's assurance that every citizen will get Covid-19 vaccine: Congress

Will Indians be getting a vaccine or do they have to be Atmanirbhar when it comes to surviving this deadly virus, asked Congress

The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Central government for saying that every person in the country does not need to be inoculated against Covid-19, while dubbing it a "U-turn Sarkar" and seeking clarity on who all will be administered the coronavirus vaccine.

Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the opposition party said while he had announced that every Indian will get vaccinated against the novel contagion, the Health ministry later announced that everyone in country need not be immunized.

"The Prime Minister said every Indian will get the Covid vaccine. But, the Prime Minister's statement was turned into a 'jumla' after the Health ministry said the entire country will not be inoculated," the Congress said on its official Twitter handle.

"Can the Indian people get some clarity? Will they be getting a vaccine or do they have to be Atmanirbhar when it comes to surviving this deadly virus," the party asked in another tweet.

The Congress accused the government of being a 'U-turn sarkar', alleging that while the Prime Minister announced that every Indian will get the Covid-19 vaccine, a few days later the Health ministry said the government never spoke about vaccinating all citizens in the country.

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had on Tuesday said at a media briefing that there may not be a need to vaccinate the country's entire population against Covid-19 if a critical mass of people are given a shot to break the chain of the virus transmission.

He made it clear that the government had not spoken about inoculating everyone in the country.

"I just want to make this clear that the government has never spoken about vaccinating the entire country. It's important that we discuss such scientific issues based on factual information only and then analyse it," Bhushan had said.