BJP leaders face flak for ‘preferential’ vaccination

In the final one week, three BJP leaders from Bengaluru, together with Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, have drawn the ire of residents and the Opposition over allegations of “undue preference” and “diversion” of COVID-19 vaccines for sure sections of society together with occasion employees and caste-based teams.

One vaccination drive that got here beneath criticism was held in Malleswaram by Mr. Narayan who’s the MLA of the constituency. Photos of monks, who are usually not on the checklist of precedence teams, being given pictures elicited allegations of “caste based vaccine camps” by Congress chief B. K. Hariprasad and Twitterati alike.

The Opposition Congress is operating a “BJP vaccine scam” marketing campaign on Twitter even because it launched a scathing assault on the Union authorities’s vaccine coverage on Wednesday.

On the drive held by the Deputy CM, Mr. Hariprasad alleged that Dalits and different individuals who got here to get vaccinated on the camp on Monday have been despatched again. However, the Minister’s workplace denied these allegations. The camp was for senior residents and a gaggle of Brahmin monks had turned up, they claimed, arguing that the photograph was used out of context.

Meanwhile, one other MLA S. Raghu is accused of diverting vaccines from a major well being centre (PHC) to a kalyana mantapa that he owns and administering them to BJP occasion employees and their members of the family, on Tuesday. Nearly 300 individuals who had booked slots to get the jab on the CV Raman Nagar PHC needed to return upset and even they held a protest. Mr. Raghu additionally denied allegations and cried “political conspiracy” to defame him. He stated the vaccination centre was shifted out of the PHC as per authorities tips.

Last week, one other MLA, Ravi Subramanya, was accused of “vaccine trade” when a non-public hospital worker claimed in a viral audio that the hospital paid ₹700 to the MLA, who was defending the steep value of the vaccine ₹900. He additionally denied all allegations.

These allegations in opposition to BJP MLAs come weeks after the BJP MP, Tejasvi Surya, and three MLAs dramatically livestreamed an expose of an alleged “bed blocking” rip-off within the BBMP.

Two of the three MLAs have confronted allegations of “diversion” of sources since then. MLA Satish Reddy’s affiliate was arrested within the mattress blocking rip-off he claimed to show, and Mr. Subramanya confronted allegations of “vaccine trade”.

While, vaccines can be found in sure non-public hospitals for these within the 18-44 age group, slots on the CoWIN portal are onerous to come back by. The State authorities is vaccinating solely these amongst 20 precedence teams in that age bracket, making a state of affairs the place individuals are pulling strings to leap the queue and get the shot.

In the absence of elected councillors, MLAs are spearheading vaccination drives of their respective constituencies within the metropolis, resulting in a number of allegations of “preferential treatment.”