Only thing required is to free vaccination drive from event management mode: RJD leader

Some Opposition leaders took a dig at the government over the record vaccination figures on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday on Friday, with the RJD's Manoj Kumar Jha asserting only thing required was to free the inoculation drive from "event management mode".

India on Friday administered a record number of over 2.26 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses taking the cumulative figure to over 79 crore, giving a major push to the inoculation drive on the occasion of Prime Minister Modi's birthday.

"The scale of vaccination reached today underlines that we indeed have the capacity to increase the daily vaccination targets. Only thing required is to free the 'drive' from 'Event-Management' mode. Jai Hind," Rajya Sabha MP Jha tweeted.

Congress' deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi also took a jibe at the government, saying PM Modi should have a benchmark for comparing our performance on vaccination.

"If it is only scale then the BJP should refer to China. Its vaccination numbers are 5 times more than us. Unfortunately from the start of Covid all the BJP has done is blow its own trumpet," he tweeted.

Attacking the government, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that while the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) "pats" itself, it must reflect on why the Union government didn't order vaccines well in advance and why it followed a "flawed procurement policy for months".

"So many more lives could have been saved," Ramesh added.

The vaccination numbers went up steadily through the day with the cumulative number of doses administered in the country crossing 79.25 crore at 10 pm, according to data on the Co-WIN portal.

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