Amid a continuous surge in the COVID-19 cases in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday appealed to the people to raise their voices for "vaccination for all".
"The country needs vaccines against coronavirus. You also raise your voice for this - everyone has the right to have a safe life. Speak up for vaccination for all," Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
The Wayanad MP also shared a video on social media, asking the government to ensure the COVID vaccination for all Indians within a limited timeframe. It also demands a ban on the export of COVID-19 vaccines.
This comes in the backdrop against India's COVID vaccine export to several countries in recent times. It is to mention that several political parties including the Aam Admi Party (AAP) have urged for universal vaccination instead of the specific age criteria keeping the spike in COVID cases in mind.
Meanwhile, India reported 1,68,912 new COVID19 cases in the last 24 hours. With these new cases, the total number of COVID cases in the country has gone up to 1,35,27,717.
According to the Union Health Ministry, 904 COVID-related deaths were reported in the country in the last 24 hours. This takes the COVID death toll to 1,70,179. The active number of cases stands at 12,01,009.
Meanwhile, the four-day-long 'Tika Utsav', a mass Covid-19 vaccine program, started in the country on Sunday (Jyotirao Phule's birth anniversary) to April 14 (B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary), following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for the same.
From April 2, the government started vaccinating all people above 45 years. India started its vaccination drive on January 16 with priority given to all healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase. The second phase started on March 1 where doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities.
( With inputs from ANI )
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