Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has urged the Indian government to provide fresh stocks of COVID-19 vaccine vials so that the administering of jabs, which is currently on hold, could be resumed. He also mentioned that his government was “alert” in view of the rising incidence of COVID cases in some parts of the country, though Bihar was not one of them. Mr. Kumar highlighted that Bihar has a higher testing rate than the national average and that they were conducting eight lakh tests, which is one-fourth of the total number of tests conducted across the country. He also made a veiled dig at his former ally BJP when asked about riots in some parts of the state during Ram Navami festivities.
Nitish Kumar’s statement suggests that his government will take strict action against those involved in the recent riots during Ram Navami festivities in Bihar, regardless of their political affiliations or family connections. His reference to the arrest of Arijit Shashwat, son of Union Minister Ashwini Choubey, in 2018 in connection with riots in Bhagalpur, indicates that the JD(U) leader is not afraid to take action against those with influential backgrounds. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has urged the Centre to provide fresh stocks of COVID-19 vaccines so that administering of jabs, which is currently on hold, could be resumed. He also emphasized that his government was alert in view of the rising incidence of COVID cases in some parts of the country, though Bihar was not one of them. The Chief Minister stated that in places like hospitals, wearing of masks is being reinforced and they were also carrying out vaccinations until their supply dried up. He hoped that the Centre would soon provide the necessary stocks to resume vaccination.
