Now, Mamata’s picture on vaccine certificates in West Bengal
2 min read
As the vaccination drive picks up in West Bengal, now certificates of COVID-19 vaccination issued by West Bengal Health Department have a photograph of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The certificates issued by State government’s vaccination on wheels initiative, where a bus has been converted into a mobile vaccination centre, have Ms. Banerjee’s photograph.
Along with the picture, the certificate has slogan “Be Alert, Be Safe” in both Bengali and English.
Vaccination certificates issued so far have carried photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which in the past was criticised by the Trinamool Congress.
Minister and chairperson of Board of Administrators Kolkata Municipal Corporation Firhad Hakim defended the latest move saying that there is nothing wrong in having photograph of the head of State on certificates.
BJP State spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “The Trinamool Congress wants to project that the place that our Prime Minister holds in our parliamentary democracy can be replaced by the Chief Minister.”
The Trinamool Congress and the BJP leadership also sparred over the GST (Goods and Service Tax) on vaccines by the Centre.
Meanwhile, the number of new COVID-19 infections in West Bengal in the past 24 hours dropped to 7,913. The number of deaths also reduced to 113. Kolkata recorded 23 deaths in the past 24 hours whereas North 24 Parganas recorded 25 fatalities. The numbers of daily infections in Kolkata have dropped below 1,000. The city recorded 899 infections in the past 24 hours whereas North 24 Parganas recorded 1,686 new infections. The active cases in the State have dropped to 53,023.
