Amit Shah hails COVID vaccine rollout; ex-BJP chief in Karnataka to discuss cabinet rejig

Hailing India's vaccine rollout, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that 'India has reached its last stage in the COVID-19' while addressing an event at Bhadravati. Shah is currently on a 2-day visit to Karnataka and laid the foundation stone laying ceremony of Rapid Action Force centre in Bhadravathi. Shah is also set to attend the BJP core committee meeting to discuss cabinet reshuffling amid growing discontent with Yediyurappa's recent cabinet expansion.

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Karnataka cabinet trouble

After waiting for a year, Karnataka CM Yediyurappa inducted even legislators namely - MTB Nagaraj, R Shankar, CP Yogeshwar, Umesh Katti, Arvind Limbavali, Murugesh Nirani, S Angara into his cabinet on January 13. With the inclusion of several Congress and JDS rebels who jumped ship to BJP, resulting in the fall of the previous Kumaraswamy government, in the cabinet, several BJP loyalists are said to be disgruntled. Reports state that Shah is set to meet the disgruntled MLAs and listen to their grievances before attending the BJP core committee meeting in Bengaluru.

Karnataka CM Yediyurappa hints at cabinet reshuffle again amid growing resentment in BJP

Senior BJP leader Basanagouda R Patil alleged that only those who blackmailed the CM "with a CD" were inducted were given cabinet berths. Many other leaders including Mysore MLA Ramadoss, chief whip in Karnataka Assembly Sunil Kumar Karkala, Ron MLA Kalakappa Bandi, and MLA from Belgaum (South) Abhay Patil openly expressed their grievances against the cabinet rejig - leading to the CM saying that a BJP core committee is working on the distribution of portfolios again and a decision will also be made on who should be included in the cabinet. Shah is set to meet the CM and chair a core committee meeting to discuss candidates and strategies for Bengaluru polls and allocation of portfolios.

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India kicks off COVID vaccination

Meanwhile, Manish Kumar, a sanitation worker in Delhi, became the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in India after PM Modi flagged off the nationwide vaccination drive on Saturday, in the presence of Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan at AIIMS Delhi. PM Modi launched the nationwide vaccine drive on Saturday via videoconferencing and congratulated the people of India on getting two 'Made in India' vaccines. With a limit of 100 beneficiaries per centre, vaccination drive is underway in  3006 locations, inoculating 3 lakh health workers in the 'world's biggest vaccine programme'.  The government has already purchased 1.1 crore COVISHIELD vaccine doses and 55 lakh COVAXIN vaccine shots - aiming to vaccinate 3 crore frontline warriors, in the first phase.