Free vaccine programme a Rs 2,500 crore scam: Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay

HYDERABAD: BJP State president Bandi Sanjay on Wednesday alleged that the State government was trying to pull off a scam worth Rs 2,500 crore under the guise of providing free vaccines to all in the State. He asked the State government on what basis it had decided to spend such a large amount.

Addressing a press conference in the city, Sanjay said the Central government would anyway provide 80 per cent of vaccines to all States free of cost. “For how many people will the State government bear the cost and at what price?” he asked.

Stating that data on PM Cares fund had been made public, he demanded the State government to release a white paper on “CM Cares” (Chief Minister Cares).

Taking potshots at Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the BJP State president sought to know why Ayushman Bharat Yojana was not being implemented in the State, and demanded to include treatment for Covid-19 in the Aarogyasri scheme.

Demanding Rao to conduct a review meeting on the current situation, he said, “The State government has tasked itself with blaming the Centre. They have been negligent in protecting the lives of people from the beginning of the pandemic.”