A political row erupted on Tuesday over the issue of "side effects" of Covishield vaccine, with the Samajwadi Party alleging that the BJP took "commission" from the manufacturer of the Covid jab and the RJD accusing the Centre of administering "wrong" vaccine to people of the country.
Who would be responsible for people dying of heart attacks, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress also attacked Modi over the issue and alleged that the PM has played with the lives of people. "Is this Modi's guarantee?" UP Congress chief Ajay Rai asked.
UK-headquartered pharma giant AstraZeneca has admitted that in "very rare cases", its COVID-19 vaccine, which is known as Vaxzevria in Europe and Covishield in India, can cause a blood clot-related side effect but the causal link is unknown, according to court papers being quoted in the UK media.
In India, the AstraZeneca vaccine was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
Attacking the ruling BJP over the issue, SP national general secretary Shivpal Yadav said, "It has been exposed now that they have taken commission in vaccines too. Low quality vaccines and medicines were given to the people." Shivpal Yadav was talking to reporters in UP's Etah.
Dimple Yadav, wife of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, said people were "forcibly" administered Covid vaccines in the country.
"A donation of Rs 200-300 crore was taken (by the BJP) and they (company) were given permission to sell the vaccine. People were forcibly administered vaccines. The corruption in manufacturing the vaccine has come to the fore due to which people are dying now," said Dimple Yadav, who is the SP candidate from Mainpuri Lok sabha seat.
"Akhilesh ji had said that we would not get the vaccine administered because till then the vaccine was not tested. Now, the number of heart attacks has increased in the country and people are suffering from serious diseases due to this haste," she told reporters in Etah.
The Daily Telegraph reported that in a legal document submitted to the High Court in London in February for a group action brought by 51 claimants, AstraZeneca admitted that the vaccine developed with the University of Oxford to protect against COVID-19 may cause Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) in "very rare cases".
Speaking to reporters in Varanasi, UP Congress chief Rai said that Prime Minister Modi not only promoted Covishield during the pandemic, but he and his party leaders also asked for votes in the name of the Covid vaccine in the elections.
"Will Modi ji and the BJP take responsibility of the deaths caused due to the side effects of the vaccine in the country?" Rai said.
The RJD alleged that the ruling BJP pushed the vaccine to get donations through electoral bonds.
"Mr. Prime Minister, who will be responsible for the millions of heart attack deaths that happened, and may happen in future due to the side effects of the Covishield vaccine?" the RJD said in a post in Hindi on X.
"In order to collect donations through Electoral Bonds, BJP gave the wrong vaccine to crores of countrymen? Experts should shed light on this," the Lalu Yadav-led party said.
