Assembly elections are being held in Bihar. Election preparations are at their last moment and all political parties are showering electoral promises. In such a situation, all political parties issued their election manifestos. In this series, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released BJP’s manifesto for Bihar assembly elections. It has promised to give Covid-19 vaccines free of cost to the people of Bihar after getting permission from ICMR.
Opposition parties have strongly targeted the BJP’s election promise to provide a Coronavirus vaccine to the people of Bihar for free. The opposition alleges that the BJP is using the epidemic for political gains. Opposition parties have demanded the Election Commission to get it done.
Opposition surrounded BJP
Former Congress president, Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi, while taunting the BJP’s promise, said that the government of India has announced the strategy of distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and now people have to get it on the basis of state election dates.
In Bihar’s main opposition party Rashtriya Janata Dal, tweeting from its official Twitter handle, wrote that “Corona vaccine is for the whole country and not of BJP. The political use of the Corona vaccine shows that the Modi government has the power to sell sickness and fear. There is no other option. People of Bihar are self-respecting, will never sell the future of their children for a small amount of money.”
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel tweeted with the #VaccineElectionism and said that seeing the announcement made for Bihar, it seems that the vaccine will not be free for the rest of the states.
On behalf of the ruling party Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut said that “Earlier it was said that you give me blood, I will give you freedom but BJP is saying you vote me and I will give you the vaccine.”
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi tweeted, “What will happen to those states where BJP is not ruled? Those who did not vote for BJP will not get a free vaccine.”
Modi government trying to escape
BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav compared the free corona vaccine to the debt waiver of farmers in an interview given to The Indian Express. Bhupendra tweeted saying that “BJP’s manifesto promises free Covid-19 vaccine. Under Indian central programs, the government will provide vaccines to the individuals of every state. It is subject to the state governments to free the public if they want to Provide vaccines or find other options. In Bihar, BJP has decided to give it free of cost. It is so. ”
Overall, the opposition says that the BJP is politicizing the epidemic.
Election Commission about this issue
On Friday, some former Chief Election Commissioners have said that there is nothing legally wrong with giving the Coronavirus vaccine in the manifesto for the Bihar Assembly elections. According to S Y Qureshi, the head of the Election Commission between 2010 and 2012, the move raises questions of ethics as the model code of conduct is entirely about the ethics policy. Legally the manifesto can make any promise.
OP Rawat, who retired from the Chief Election Commissioner in 2018, says that you can not put any statement in the manifesto. But the Supreme Court has given the system that the party should clarify the budget provisions to fulfill the promises.
The whole world is reeling from the outbreak of the Corona epidemic. In the last few days, there is an atmosphere of fear everywhere and eagerly waiting for the corona vaccine. Elections were held in many countries of the world during this period. India is the first country where the corona vaccine has become an issue in elections. A lot of promises are made in elections, but vaccination has been kept separate from elections everywhere. For example, we can look at America. Voting is scheduled to take place on November 3, but no such issue was seen. The BJP has been accused of bringing down the level of politics for some days. It seems as if the BJP will not stop going to any extent in the process of winning the election.
