BJP president JP Nadda, who arrived here Saturday on a two-day visit, attacked the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh saying people with “narrow mindset” should not be elected to power.
Nadda’s visit comes at a time Uttar Pradesh prepares itself for the next year’s assembly polls in which the ruling BJP will be pitted against the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress among other regional fronts.
Addressing a meeting of the newly-elected chairpersons of zila panchayats and block panchayats on the first day of his visit, Nadda praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccination drive. “On April 20, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modiji constituted a task force and he gave the country two vaccines (against coronavirus) in nine months,” he said.
“It is a separate matter (that the Opposition said) we will not get vaccinated. This is a vaccine of the BJP. Now, you have been vaccinated with the BJP vaccine. This tells the mindset of the leaders. Those who have narrow mindset, how will they lead UP? This is something to think upon,” he said, without naming any leader or party.
Just as the vaccine was being rolled out in the country in January, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had called it the “vaccine of the BJP” and said he would not take the shot. “How can I trust the vaccine, which will be used for vaccination by the BJP? We cannot get vaccinated by the BJP’s vaccine,” he had said. Nadda also said the world sought India’s vaccines and jabs were provided to various countries under Vaccine Maitri.
“Today, there is no shortage of vaccines, and by December, the industrialists of India will prepare 135 crore (doses of) vaccines,” Nadda said. BJP’s national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, Uttar Pradesh in-charge Radha Mohan Singh, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma and state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh were present during the occasion.
