Mounting pressure on the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, the opposition BJP on Tuesday demanded free vaccination for every resident of Maharashtra.
BJP MLA and spokesperson Ram Kadam has shot off a letter to Thackeray and state’s public health and family welfare minister Rajesh Tope in this regard.
“Maharashtra and particularly Mumbai has been the worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic... the death toll in the state is the highest in India and the economic repercussions have been severe,” Kadam said.
In separate letters to Thackeray and Tope, Kadam said that despite an economic package rolled out by the Centre, the relief was not provided by the Maharashtra government.
“Working class mainly labourers, small-time shopkeepers, taxi and auto drivers had faced monetary issues during the pandemic,” he said, adding that many poor people lost their lives because of inadequate health infrastructure.
“Cyclone Nisarga added to the woes of people in the Konkan region. The problems of farmers have compounded,” he said.
Kadam said that with two vaccines cleared for emergency use there is a ray of hope. “With the ‘aam aadmi’ having been affected badly, we are hoping that the state would provide the vaccine free of cost,” he said, adding that at this stage the government must assure free vaccines to its people.
Published 05 January 2021, 12:08 IST