To vaccinate people free of cost ahead of polls: Mamata requests PM Modi
The Bengal government wants to give free COVID-19 vaccine to all the people of the state before the polls. Therefore, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking permission to buy vaccines from private companies.
FollowThe chief minister highlighted the concern that that people in the upcoming elections will be forced to go to polling stations without any vaccination coverage.
In order to prevent that from happening, the state government has decided to provide free vaccines to people in West Bengal, Banerjee wrote in the letter.
The Chief Minister has announced to provide free vaccination to all the people of the state at the very beginning when the vaccination procedure started. Significantly, the central government on Wednesday (February 24) issued a clearance for taking COVID-19 vaccine with money from a private hospital. On the same day, Mamata sent a letter to Modi asking for permission to buy vaccines.
The chief minister reasoned that it is equally important to reach out to people with a rapid programme immediately for the interest of the health and well-being of all concerned with the election process.
According to some estimates, Bengal has a population of around 10 crore and the cost of free vaccinations may be as much as ₹ 5,000 crore.
