Jaipur, Apr 21 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the Centre should announce free COVID-19 vaccine for people above 18 years of age like it did for other age groups.

He claimed that if such a step is not taken, it will lead to resentment among the youth against the central dispensation.

"After constant demands by the Congress party and the states, the Centre has decided to vaccinate people above the age of 18, which we welcome. The Centre should also announce free vaccine for the youth above 18 years of age. Not giving vaccine for free will increase resentment among the youth towards the Centre," Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.

He said it is not appropriate to charge the youngsters for the vaccine, while others get it for free.

“The Centre should adopt the same policy for vaccination for 60 years, 45 years and now 18 years of age,” he said.

The chief minister said there is a rapid surge in coronavirus cases and the death rate is also high.

“In such a situation, the Centre should not put the burden on youths. It should provide them free vaccination,” he said in a series of tweets.

The Union government had recently announced to vaccinate people over the age of 18 years from May 1. It also relaxed the norms by allowing states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to purchase the vaccine doses directly from manufacturers.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)