Moily slams BJP for vaccine promise in Bihar poll manifesto

The country is reeling under serious stress and strain owing to the rapid spread of the coronavirus since February 2020, he said. Hitting out at the Centre over its handling of COVID-19, Moily alleged that the NDA government did not realise the seriousness of the pandemic on time.

Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Friday termed as "election stunt" the BJP's promise of free COVID-19 vaccine in its Bihar poll manifesto and alleged that the saffron party was focused on garnering votes with "fake promises". Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday released the BJPs manifesto for the Bihar assembly polls which promised free COVID-19 vaccine once it has been cleared by the ICMR.

Slamming the BJP, Moily said the declaration of free COVID-19 vaccine exclusively for Bihar is nothing but an "election stunt", partisan, arbitrary, atrocious and an inhuman act. The BJP would like to swim in "political waters" at the cost of the suffering of the people of the country, he said in a statement.

The BJP's focus is only on garnering votes with "fake promises" and not on production of a vaccine or alleviating the sufferings of the poor, the former Union minister alleged. The country is reeling under serious stress and strain owing to the rapid spread of the coronavirus since February 2020, he said.

Hitting out at the Centre over its handling of COVID-19, Moily alleged that the NDA government did not realise the seriousness of the pandemic on time.