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PM Modi’s 71st birthday: Record Covid-19 vaccination, 20-day outreach programme among BJP’s agenda
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday called on the people to get themselves vaccinated and also help others who are yet to receive their shots.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is planning to achieve record Covid-19 vaccinations on September 17, the occasion of the 71st birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a day which the party has been celebrating as ‘Seva Diwas’ (Day of service) since 2014. The celebrations usually last a week. However, this year, in view of Modi’s 20 years in public life, his days as the chief minister of Gujarat included, the party’s outreach programme has been extended to a 20-day celebration.
As part of its celebrations, the BJP has pitched record Covid-19 vaccinations on the day as its major agenda. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday called on the people to get themselves vaccinated and also help others who are yet to receive their shots. “This would be a birthday gift for the prime minister,” Mandaviya said.
The number of vaccinations that the BJP is aiming for is 1.5 crore doses on the day, news agency ANI reported quoting a senior BJP leader. While the country has managed to administer over 10 million doses in a single day at least two times earlier, the party’s national president JP Nadda had previously said that booth workers and health volunteers would assist in the vaccination drive on the day.
Other celebrations
Apart from the vaccinations, the BJP has also planned to distribute 14 crore ration bags with the picture of Modi printed on them to the people. Also, on October 2, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, BJP workers will lead a large-scale cleanliness drive and also a campaign to encourage the use of Khadi and local products. The celebrations beginning on September 17 will continue till October 7.
Further, BJP booth workers will send five crore postcards to the PM highlighting their commitment to public service.
State BJP units chip in
Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are among some states where the BJP units have planned Covid-19 vaccination drives. MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has planned the third ‘Maha Vaccination Abhiyan’ in his state on September 17 while the Karnataka government has planned a blood-donation campaign along with the vaccination drive.
Similar celebrations have also been planned by the Maharashtra BJP, which would be inaugurated by former CM and the current leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis. An awareness campaign on plastic would also be conducted by the Maharashtra unit.
