Several Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including two MLAs, were among those who received a Covid-19 vaccine in Purba Bardhaman district on Saturday. (Representational) Several Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including two MLAs, were among those who received a Covid-19 vaccine in Purba Bardhaman district on Saturday, while many healthcare workers alleged that they could not get the shot though they were asked to visit an inoculation centre.
In the district’s Katwa area, TMC MLA Rabindranath Chatterjee was seen receiving a vaccine shot. When questions were raised, a district health official defended the legislator saying he is the chairperson of the patient welfare association (Rogi Kalyan Samiti) of the Katwa Sub-Divisional Hospital.
TMC MLA from Bhatar Subhash Mondal, former TMC MLA Banamali Hazra, Zilla Parishad executive member Jahar Bagdi and the Bhatar Panchayat Samiti official in charge of public health, Mahendra Hazra, also received the vaccine. All of them are associated with the patient welfare committees of government hospitals in different areas.
“Those who are members of Rogi Kalyan Samitis, they too are in the list with all the health workers. Rabindranath Chatterjee, Subhash Mondal and Banamali Hazra are directly associated with the work of hospitals. Their names were already in the Covid vaccine list,” Bardhaman Chief Medical Officer of Health Pranab Kumar Roy told reporters.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, “In the first phase, the vaccine is meant for health workers, doctors, police, ASHA workers and other frontline workers. We have seen MLAs and other people taking the vaccine today. They should not be on the list. They are not supposed to take the vaccine in this phase. The list of recipients is sent by the state to the Centre. She [CM Mamata Banerjee] should make the list public.”