Mumbai: On Monday, the Centre announced that those 18 and above were eligible to receive Covid vaccination from May 1. However, just hours after the announcement, former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s nephew Tanmay said that he was the proud recipient of the requisite two doses of Covid vaccine. Even though he isn’t eligible, 23-year-old Tanmay Fadnavis, shared a photo of him getting the jab on Instagram, which soon triggered a controversy. Notably, Tanmay received the first dose of the vaccine in Mumbai and the second dose at the National Cancer Institute in Nagpur.

After his picture went viral on social media, many opposition leaders and citizens wondered how the 23-year-old received the vaccine since only frontline or health care workers, and those over the age of 45 are eligible to receive the doses. After being trolled, Tanmay reportedly deleted the picture, but many had already taken the screenshots.

“Dear @Dev_Fadnavis, is your Nephew Tanmay Fadnavis 45+ years old? If not, how is he eligible for taking the Vaccine? Just like Remdesivir, are you hoarding Vaccines & giving it to your family members? People are dying. There is Vaccine Shortage. But Fadnavis family is Safe,” the former Karnataka Congress Social Media Head tweeted.

Many others also slammed Devendra Fadnavis, reminding him of the acute vaccine shortage in Maharashtra a few days back. Others deemed it nepotism and corruption, lamenting how even eligible people above 45 years of age weren’t able to get the vaccine.

One user wrote, ”At a time when eligible people are facing issue due to vaccination shortages. How was #tanmayfadnavis able to get vaccinated and that too twice… privileges of being a relative of #DevendraFadnavis ?”

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Congress leader and Maharashtra minister Nitin Raut also demanded an inquiry into the matter. “When eligible persons (45+) are struggling for vaccination, how can a relative of a BJP leader who is barely 23years old get it,” he asked.