India News | PM's Virtual Meet Focused on Fuel Price Hike, Was Not Allowed to Speak: J'khand Minister
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually interacted with representatives of states, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta on Wednesday said it was more of a "political meeting", with discussions primarily focused on fuel price hike and not the COVID-19 situation, unlike what its agenda had stated.
Jamshedpur, Apr 27 (PTI) Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually interacted with representatives of states, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta on Wednesday said it was more of a "political meeting", with discussions primarily focused on fuel price hike and not the COVID-19 situation, unlike what its agenda had stated.
Gupta, who attended the meeting on behalf of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, also said that Jharkhand's voice went unheard in the session.
"I had raised my hand at the meeting as I wanted to seek free booster dose for Jharkhand. However, I wasn't given a chance to speak. Jharkhand's voice went unheard...
"The meeting was more of a political one, with 60 per cent of its time devoted to discussions on fuel price hike, and 40 per cent on the emerging COVID-19 situation," the minister claimed.
He demanded that free precautionary doses be made available in the state for children of 12 years of age and below.
The health minister also gave assurance that all COVID-19 protocols suggested by the PM during the meeting would be followed in the state.
Flagging higher fuel prices in many opposition-ruled states, Modi has urged the governments there to reduce VAT in "national interest" for the benefit of people.
He also said that challenge of the pandemic is not fully over yet, with the increase in coronavirus cases in the last two weeks manifesting the need to stay alert, and underlined that vaccination remains the biggest protective shield against the virus.
(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)