Free /Fri?/ Costing Nothing, Or Paid For: Rahul Gandhi Explains The Meaning Of ‘Free’ Vaccines

Ever since the vaccination drive has started, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday demanded free Covid-19 vaccination for all Indians. He sent out a tweet with the dictionary meaning and usage of the word 'free' to stress his point. "Free /fri?/ adjective, adverb -- costing nothing, or not needing to be paid for," he wrote, and then went on to illustrate the usage of word "free" through two examples relevant to his demands, "India must get free Covid vaccine. All citizens must receive the inoculation free of charge.”

Gandhi and his party have been demanding free Covid-19 vaccination for all citizens. They have also termed the centre's new vaccination policy discriminatory.

Further stressing his demand, he said, "Let's hope they get it this time.," and used the hashtag #vaccine.

Separately, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh demanded an on-the-spot registration option also for all adults at inoculation centres, saying the online process may end up excluding many.

"I fail to understand why BOTH options of online pre-registration and on-the-spot registration for walk-ins should not be allowed for vaccination. Online registration should help not hamper. In India's case, mandatory online registration may end up excluding many,” he said on Twitter.

With PTI inputs