Form of words:
Bangalore: IAS officer MR Ravi, who serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka, has come under severe criticism after the government sought to make Covid vaccination a condition for accessing rations under welfare schemes and pensions.
Speaking to the media at his office on Tuesday evening, Ravi talked about the launch of schemes like “no vaccination, no ration” and “no vaccination, no pension” from September 1.
Following a response, the district administration issued a clarification on Wednesday morning, insisting that no official order had been issued in this regard. Ravi signed the clarification.
IAS officer had done earlier be in the news In May this year, during the second Covid wave, 24 patients died due to a suspected oxygen shortage at the Chamarajanagar district hospital.
viral video
A video of Ravi is going viral, announcing two schemes and appreciating the vaccination rates in the district.
He said, “The district administration has so far achieved 75 per cent of its target in vaccinating people above 18 years. With an intention to save lives and keep our citizens healthy, we will start a new program from September 1 ” in the video.
“We will make vaccines mandatory for those seeking ration under the Public Distribution System (PDS). We will launch it with the slogan ‘No Vaccination, No Ration’. Similarly ‘No Vaccination, No Pension’ will be started. We have already informed all the banks and issued instructions.”
Ravi then presents an estimate for the number of people likely to be covered by the plans. “There are 2.9 lakh people with BPL (below poverty line) and Antyodaya cards who avail ration from PDS. Around 2.2 lakh people are availing pension benefits from the government. Justifying the move, he said, “Citizens are reluctant to vaccinate and these new programs are meant to ensure that they understand the importance of vaccination.”
Within hours of his statement, the district administration issued a five-line statement.
“We have noticed some news articles titled ‘No Vaccination, No Ration’, ‘No Pension’. The district administration has not issued any official order in this regard. Hence, the reason for denial of ration or pension to the beneficiaries. There is no question. This clarification is issued from now on,” the statement said, clarifying any reference to the video statement.
ThePrint reached out to Karnataka Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar via phone calls and text messages to inquire whether any action has been initiated in the matter, but there was no response till the time of publication of this report.
Read also: Slow-growing second-dose virus delays Sputnik V’s entry into India’s government vaccination campaign
‘Ridiculous, colonial’
On social media, the announcement of the plans by Ravi was panned by users as “ridiculous” and “colonial”.
It is the babu of independent India who make such colonial era policies which force people to make excessive choices. This is a perfect example of why we need reforms in the Indian bureaucracy.
— Bharat Atmaj | #Hindutva is Hindutva that opposes (@Kamal4Bharat) September 1, 2021
What is this madness? Many times people are not able to get vaccinated even after standing in queues all day. How can you deprive them of their food?
— n (@sp_chat15) September 1, 2021
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar said on Twitter that denial of basic food and pension is illegal, immoral, unconstitutional. In a press conference on Wednesday, he demanded suspension of the officer.
In Chamarajanagar, the BJP government says it will not give ration or pension to those who do not vaccinate.
But are there enough vaccines?
Have they persuaded people to take vaccines?Such denial of basic food and pension is illegal, immoral, unconstitutional.https://t.co/JVqfkrpGKb
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) 31 August 2021
Karnataka has so far given 4.36 crore shots of Kovid vaccines, of which 1.07 crore are second doses.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Read also: India’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign has a problem of ‘missing women’. it needs to be addressed
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