A new vaccination drive in Madhya Pradesh's Niwari has supposedly done more harm than good. Policeman in the area have created roadblocks and have started tagging people according to their vaccination status.
Ones who are vaccinated are given badges with the tricolour that say "I am a true patriot because I got vaccinated," and for the ones who haven't received their shot, posters saying "Stay away from me I haven't got vaccinated" with skull symbols are given.
These posters and badges are handed to people in the Prithvipur block and they are also asked to read them out loud. For the ones who haven't taken the vaccine yet, the police is also making them take an oath of receiving their shot in the next two days.
When asked about a step like this that could possible incite further discrimination in a situation where vaccines are already running out of stock, Niwari's SP Alok Kumar Singh said that the step was merely to create awareness. “With a third wave being anticipated, various awareness drives are being carried out to dispel the fear of vaccination, which is the only solution against the virus,” he said in a statement to The Indian Express.
However, several users on Twitter were enraged to find something like this and did not agree with the official's statement. Some have questioned the legality behind doing something like this, while others have deemed it unconstitutional. Here is how users reacted:
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