'Only 21 pc fully vaccinated, raise the bar before celebrating': Siddaramaiah slams BJP

Former chief minister of Karnataka and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP over its celebrations on 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine milestone and said 'let us put on hold the celebrations and concentrate on vaccinating everyone'.

Bengaluru: After India breached 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses mark on Thursday, former chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asking why its leaders are celebrating when only 21 per cent of the country's population are fully vaccinated.

In a series of tweets on Friday, the senior Congress leader said "1 billion doses sounds fancy number but the devil is in the details. Only 29 Cr people out of 139Cr are fully vaccinated, which means only about 21% are fully vaccinated. What are @BJP4India leaders celebrating for? For vaccinating just 21% of the population?"

Siddaramaiah's tweet

"Only 29 Cr people have got two-doses & 42 Cr have got one dose, leaving 62 Cr without any single dose of vaccine. With just 29 Cr (21%) people fully vaccinated, India's position is still in danger. Are @BJP4India leaders celebrating India's vulnerability?" he wrote.

In another tweet, he questioned if India is prepared to fully vaccinate its target population by this year end. "India still needs about 106 Cr doses to fully vaccinate the target by 31st Dec. This means 1.51 doses have to be administered everyday. Is India prepared to handle this load & ensure all Indians are fully vaccinated by this year end? What say PM @narendramodi ?"

Siddaramaiah's tweet

"In US - 56% population are fully vaccinated, in China, it is 70%, in Canada it is 71%. But India's fully vaccinated coverage is just 21%. Mr Narendra Modi, let us raise the bar before celebrating!!" he further said.

"There may be a need for booster dose too & with even 1st doses & 2nd doses pending for large population, can we even think of booster dose? Mr PM @narendramodi, Let us put an hold to the celebrations & concentrate on vaccinating everyone," he added.