Shed vaccine hesitancy, don't believe in rumours: PM Modi in Mann ki Baat address

Cautioning people that the threat of COVID-19 still remains in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, June 27, urged them to shed vaccine hesitancy and get themselves inoculated soon. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, Modi said India had achieved the feat of most vaccination doses administered in a single day on June 21 at the start of the new phase of inoculation under which all adults are being given free jabs.

Seeking to make people shed vaccine hesitancy, Modi spoke to residents of Dulariya village in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and counselled them to take the vaccine amidst their doubts about the exercise. He noted that both he and his nearly 100-year-old mother have taken both doses of the vaccine, and asked people not to believe in rumours and trust science and scientists.

"The threat of COVID-19 remains and we have to focus on vaccination as well as follow COVID-19 protocols," he said.

In his broadcast, he also paid tributes and remembered the contribution of Indian sprint legend Milkha Singh, who died earlier this month. Modi hailed Singh's contribution to Indian sports and said he will always cherish his interactions with the athlete. Singh died in a Chandigarh hospital after a month-long battle with COVID-19. He also lost his wife Nirmal Kaur, a former national volleyball captain, to the same disease.

The Prime Minister on Sunday also applauded India's Olympic-bound athletes, saying that they have all endured "years of toil" and the country should back them without putting them under pressure during the Tokyo Games next month. More than 100 Indian sportspersons have qualified for the mega-event, which was postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be held under strict health safety protocols from July 23 to August 8 in the Japanese capital.

"Every player going to Tokyo has had one's own share of struggle, and years of toil. They are going not only for themselves but for the country," Modi said in his 'Mann ki Baat' address to the nation. 

"These players also have to enhance the glory of India and win the hearts of the people and that is why my countrymen I want to advise you too, that we should not pressurize these players knowingly or unknowingly.

"...but support them with an open mind and bolster the enthusiasm of every player," he added.

India's best Olympic performance came in the 2012 London edition when the country won six medals, including two silver. In the 2016 Games, the performance dipped considerably and India could fetch just two medals.