Vaccine shortage serious concern, not 'festival': Rahul Gandhi's dig at PM Modi's Utsav call

New Delhi, Apr 09: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the shortage of vaccine doses against coronavirus is a serious issue and not an "utsav". This comment, by the Congress leader, came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to observe a "tika utsav", or "vaccine festival", between April 11 and 14 to inoculate the maximum number of eligible beneficiaries across states.

Rahul Gandhi also questioned the government over export of vaccines at a time when vaccine centres in several states, including hardest-hit Maharashtra, have been shutting early and turning people away as supplies run out.

Many vaccination centres reported that they're running low on doses even as infections in the country rose at their fastest rate since the pandemic began.