Delhi Speaker kicks off "Jahan vote, wahan vaccine" drive at booth level

Delhi speaker Ram Niwas Goel kicked off the "Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccine" drive at the booth level on Thursday for beneficiaries over the age of 45 at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Vivek Vihar in the national capital.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, Goel said, "Our volunteers and booth-level officers (BLOs) will motivate people by campaigning door-to-door and ask them to get vaccinated as it is near their place. There is no other way to vaccinate everyone."

"Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccine" drive was launched by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday with the aim of inoculating all above the age of 45 within four weeks.

Talking about the Delhi government's "Ghar-Ghar ration" scheme which was "returned for reconsideration" by the Centre ahead of the launch, Goel said BJP will lose further ground in Delhi if the scheme is successful in the national capital.

"In all the work which is done, the obstacles are still there. The latest example is the distribution of ration. We are providing ration at home and they (BJP-led government in Centre) have a problem with that too. They are just worried about the votes and nothing else. If the "Ghar-Ghar ration" scheme of Kejriwal is successful then the leftover vote bank they have will vanish," Delhi Speaker said.

Goel further said the Delhi government's doorstep delivery of ration scheme would have prevented crowding at ration shops amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are waiting for the third wave of the pandemic and we are cautioning everyone. There are huge crowds outside ration shops. To prevent that we want to provide the ration door to door. Leaders in the BJP government say that there is corruption at ration shops... Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government need to accept this scheme someday," the Delhi Speaker stated.

When asked about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Delhi, Goel said, "The farce has been going on for one month as the governments don't have vaccines and vaccines are available at private hospitals. When the Supreme Court asked for an account, the Centre regained consciousness. Now they have decided rates. For the past one month, private hospitals have looted people under the umbrella of the Modi government."

He further raised questions about why the Centre is trying to divide the "rich and poor", and said, " the rich should also stand in queues so that they get to know what poverty is."

( With inputs from ANI )