The BJP's manifesto promises to provide free COVID-19 vaccination for all the people in Bihar once a vaccine is approved has provoked sharp reaction, with opposition political parties and their leaders calling out "appalling cynicism", "blatant populism", and questioning what will happen in non-BJP-ruled states.
Ahead of the three-phased Bihar Assembly elections, BJP leader and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, 22 October, stated that "as soon as the coronavirus vaccine will be available for production at a mass scale, every person in Bihar will get free vaccination."
"This is the first promise mentioned in our poll manifesto," she was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"The Government of India announced India's Covid access strategy. Kindly refer to the state-wise election schedule to know when will you get it, along with a hoard of false promises," Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted soon after the announcement, taking a dig at the BJP.