BJP, Cong File Plaint After Kerala CM Promises Free COVID Vaccine

The parties say the move just ahead of final phase of Kerala local body poll is a breach of model code of conduct.

Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister  

(Photo:  The Quint)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, 13 December, approached the Kerala state election commission over the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s statement on providing free COVID-19 vaccine to all in the state, reported The Times of India.

The BJP in its complaint mentioned that the announcement related to COVID-19 vaccine just ahead of the final phase of Kerala local body poll is a clear breach of the model code of conduct.

“He thinks vaccine will save him from impending humiliation and ignominy. But he’s mistaken.”

K Surendran, BJP state president, as quoted by Hindustan Times

Double Standards?

This vehement opposition by the BJP takes one back to 22 October, when the BJP promised to provide free COVID-19 vaccination for all the people in Bihar once a vaccine is approved as part of its election manifesto just ahead of Assembly polls.

BJP leader and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had 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." She had further added that, "This is the first promise mentioned in our poll manifesto".

While the opposition had criticised the move, terming it ‘blatant populism’, the Election Commission had given the BJP a clean chit.

The EC cited three provisions of the Model Code of Conduct to justify the clean chit to the party, “State election manifestos should not contain anything repugnant to the Constitution; should avoid making promises that vitiate the purity of the electoral process or exert undue influence on the voter; and should reflect the rationale behind promises.”

The EC had observed that no violation of the three mentioned provisions of the Model Code of Conduct had taken place.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s promise for free vaccination, too, comes in the midst of local body elections being held in the state.

What Did The Kerala CM Promise?

CM Vijayan had on Saturday announced that once the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, it would be provided free of cost to the people of Kerala, reported news agency IANS.

The Kerala CM told reporters, "This (COVID-19 vaccination) is an important issue. This is one thing a majority of people are thinking now. There needn't be any doubt. While the extent of the availability of the vaccine for people in Kerala is an issue that needs to be looked into, but available vaccine will be provided for free. The government does not intend to take money for that (vaccination) from anyone. We will take steps for free distribution," reported NDTV.

‘Attempt to Influence Voters,’ Alleges Congress

The Congress, too, was angered by the Kerala CM’s announcement about the COVID-19 vaccine. Congress leader KC Joseph stated that Vijayan’s announcement just a day before the local body elections was a “deliberate attempt to influence voters.”

“We have already made a written complaint to the Election Commission (EC). We need action against him,” said Joseph, reported Hindustan Times.

Kerala is now the fourth state to announce free COVID vaccination after Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Puducherry.

As of 12 December, there were 60,029 active COVID-19 cases in Kerala while the total number of cured patients in the state stood at 6,01,861. There are 437 hotspots in the state. On 12 December, 5,949 people tested COVID positive in the state.

Meanwhile, some of the key vaccine manufacturers in India include the Serum Institute of India, that is manufacturing Oxford- AstraZeneca's Covishield, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila are two other companies.