Sushil Modi asks Lalu to follow Mulayam's example to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

On Tuesday, BJP MP Sushil Modi urged ex-Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav to follow in the footsteps of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav who got vaccinated recently. According to him, the Mainpuri MP had struck a huge blow to the people who were spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines by giving nonsensical statements. Modi suggested that the RJD supremo should take the first dose of the vaccine on June 11, which is his birthday, along with his wife Rabri Devi.

He contended that such a move would go a long way in addressing vaccine hesitancy especially in rural Bihar which in turn can increase the pace of the inoculation drive. In a dig at Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Rajya Sabha MP opined that he should trust his 'relative' Mulayam Singh Yadav even if he doesn't believe in PM Modi's advice. There is a matrimonial alliance between the two families with the RJD president's youngest daughter Rajlaxmi marrying Mainpuri MP's grandnephew Tej Pratap in 2015. 

BJP accuses RJD of promoting vaccine hesitancy

Amid Tejashwi Yadav's criticism of the Bihar government's handling of the COVID-19 situation, BJP has repeatedly blamed RJD for promoting vaccine hesitancy in the state. On May 17, Sushil Modi lamented that political parties such as Congress and RJD tried to mock and raise questions over the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines simply to take political mileage in the pandemic situation. He recalled that some described it as 'BJP's vaccine' while others dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to himself take the COVAXIN jab.

Ex-Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi remarked, "Before questioning the government, Tejashwi Yadav should answer why Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi haven't taken the vaccine yet? How many MLAs of RJD have taken the vaccine? Why does RJD want to endanger the lives of the poor and villagers by keeping them away from inoculation?" 

At present, there are 8231 active novel coronavirus cases in Bihar while 7,00,224 patients have recovered and 5424 fatalities have been recorded. While a total of 93,63,204 persons have been inoculated in Bihar till now, 18,68,821 of them have received the second dose of the vaccine too. Addressing the nation on Monday, PM Modi rolled back the decentralized vaccine procurement policy and announced that the Centre will procure 75% of the vaccine stock and distribute it to the states for free from June 21. This is expected to give a huge impetus to the vaccination drive.