Chidambaram says 'Wish PM Modi celebrates his b'day everyday' as India clocks 2.5 cr jabs

As India clocked its highest vaccination daily tally on Friday, Congress MP P Chidambaram pointed out that BJP-ruled states like  Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka vaccinated many times the daily average. Claiming that on other days, these states were 'non-performing', he wished PM Modi celebrated his birthday everyday. India clocked 2.5 crore vaccine doses on September 17, the day PM Narendra Modi turned 71 years old.

Chidambaram: 'Wished PM celebrated birthday'

Retaliating to it, BJP I-T chief Amit Malviya tweeted, "Well, bottom line is, BJP ruled states perform, whatever the motivation. But here is an easier option - why not ask Congress governments also to perform? There aren’t many anyway. They can pick a day and assume it is Sonia Gandhi’s birthday".

India administers 2.5 crore jabs

Setting a new record, India administered over 2.5 core vaccines doses on Friday (17 September) - marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 71st birthday. As per CoWIN chief RS Sharma, India administered 700 vaccines per second, 50,000 vaccinations per minute on Friday. In total, India has administered over 79 crore vaccine doses till date. Prior to breaching the 2-crore vaccination mark, India had achieved the 1-crore vaccination mark on two occasions.

Speaking exclusively with Republic Media Network, RS Sharma said, "We are so proud of the achievement of the country. Our doctors, health workers, people on the ground, officials and state governments, everyone has been putting in their efforts. This shows that if India decides to do something, it can achieve it. It's a great milestone. Vaccination is one of the most potent weapons in the fight against COVID." Sharma added India is almost concluding bilateral agreements to facilitate the travel of Indians with the help of CoWIN-generated vaccination certificates.

India has surpassed the average daily COVID vaccination rate of 18 major countries. The 18 nations, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and Russia, have together administered 8.54 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines while India alone administered 8.54 million doses. India has 3,40,639 active cases, 3,26,32,222 recovered cases and 4,44,529 deaths. India's total cases are at 3,34,17,390.