During a press conference on Friday, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that India will vaccinate all of its inhabitants against the coronavirus illness (Covid-19) by December 2021. According to Javadekar, 216 crore vaccine doses would be ready by December, allowing 108 crore individuals to receive their vaccinations.

“The health ministry last week made it clear that within December the nation will produce 216 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines which means that at least 108 crore people will be able to get their jabs. So, Rahul Gandhi should understand that India will vaccinate all by December 2021,” Prakash Javadekar said. Javadekar also said that the Covid-19 vaccination programme is robust and will successfully vaccinate every citizen.

Earlier in the day, Javadekar chastised Rahul Gandhi for using the phrase ‘nautanki’ during a press conference. He said that using such language while the country is in crisis is tantamount to denigrating the government’s attempts to combat the pandemic.

“India has administered 20 crore vaccines so far and ranks second in terms of jabs administered. If Rahul Gandhi is indeed worried about vaccination rates, he should concentrate on how Congress-governed states are conducting their respective vaccination drives. Those states have not been able to vaccinate people aged between 18-45 years even though quotas were assigned to them,” Javadekar further added.

“Vaccines are being produced and by December 216 crore doses will be administered, but one thing is clear and one does not require proof that the ‘toolkit’ is created by you,” Javadekar said, referring to a document that the BJP claims was created by Congress in an attempt to defame PM Modi and attack the government over its handling of the second wave of Covid-19, an allegation that Congress denied. In his press conference, Javadekar also stated that places like Rajasthan had no rule of law since the state has experienced an increase in incidences of violence against women, and that the state administration has failed to address these concerns.