Congress targets Fadnavis over nephew's vaccination

Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis came under severe fire after it emerged that his 22-year-old nephew managed to get a life-saver Covid vaccine jab, allegedly violating Centre's norms

Mumbai: Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis came under severe fire after it emerged that his 22-year-old nephew managed to get a life-saver Covid vaccine jab, allegedly violating Centre's norms, here on Tuesday.

The issue came to light when Tanmay Fadnavis posted a smiling picture of his on social media while getting vaccinated though he is stated to be far below the permitted eligible age by the Centre.

While admitting that Tanmay was his relative, Fadnavis claimed he was not aware how he (Tanmay) managed to get the vaccination dose, at the National Cancer Institute in Nagpur.

Congress targets Fadnavis over nephew's vaccination

Tanmay is the grandson of senior BJP leader, MLC and former minister, Shobha Fadnavis and son of Abhijit Fadnavis -- the cousin of Devendra Fadnavis, a former chief minister of the state.

The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi partners slammed the BJP and Fadnavis over the development since the Centre has permitted only people above 45 to get the jab, while those above 18 shall be allowed from May 1.

Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Clyde Crasto reminded Devendra Fadnavis of the proverb - "People living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones".

"The Central government has put the condition that only people over 45 years can be vaccinated currently. Then how can Fadnavis' nephew (who is only 22) get the vaccine? The lives of BJP leaders' and families are important. Are the common people insects isn't their life worth anything," the Maharashtra Congress said in a sharp tweet.

Though Tanmay Fadnavis removed his social media video soon after an uproar erupted, his uncle Devendra Fadnavis is being slammed with many demanding to know how the youngster got the jab, who cleared it when even the eligible people are deprived of the vaccine.

For the past couple of weeks, the Maharashtra government has repeatedly urged the Centre to increase its share of vaccine quota considering the huge number of Covid cases and fatalities which are the highest in the country.

Seeking to distance himself from the matter, Devendra Fadnavis issued a clarification on the controversy on Monday night by saying that Tanmay Fadnavis is his distant relative and he has no idea under which criteria Tanmay received his Covid vaccine dose.

Reacting to the issue, Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s wife Amruta Fadnavis on Tuesday said, “no one is above rules & law”.

Source: Twitter

"Priority for any service should be on basis of decorum or prevalent policy. No one is above rules & law. The law can take its course and we stand for justice always! We are with you on this issue, pls take action which will stop future queue breaking occurrences!" she tweeted with the hashtag #tanmayfadnavis.

Amruta also tagged Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, who questioned how Tanmay Fadnavis got both the doses of the coronavirus vaccine, in her Tweet.

(with inputs from agency)