“If it is done according to the rules, then there is no reason to object to it. But if the rules are violated, it is totally inappropriate,” Devendra Fadnavis had said in April.
In April 2021, there was an uproar that the nephew of former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Devendra Fadnavis had been vaccinated. Fadnavis’s nephew Tanmay Fadnavis did not fit the age limit at the time but was found to have been vaccinated. This was criticized by Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP. However, it has now come to light that Tanmay Fadnavis has been vaccinated as a health worker. Nitin Yadav, an RTI activist from Baramati, obtained the information under RTI. Nitin Yadav also raised questions on how did Tanmay Fadnavis get vaccinated as a health worker when he ‘actor’ in his profile info on his Twitter account.
RTI activist Nitin Yadav had filed an application on April 21, 2021 at Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai seeking information in this regard. Information has been provided in this regard on June 4, 2021 and it has been disclosed that Tanmay Fadnavis had taken the first dose of Covishield vaccine at the Seven Hills Hospital. He had taken the second dose in Nagpur showing the certificate he got after the first dose. However, many had questioned back then that on what basis was he given the first dose.
Meanwhile, speaking on this, Nitin Yadav has raised some questions and asked: “Tanmay Fadnavis, nephew of Devendra Fadnavis and grandson of former minister Shubha Fadnavis, had taken the first dose at Mumbai’s Seven Hills Hospital. He had taken the second dose in Nagpur. The RTI has revealed that he was registered as a health worker while taking the first dose. On Twitter, he has introduced himself as an actor. He was vaccinated because he is the nephew of Fadnavis, he was vaccinated because he is an actor, he was vaccinated because he is a health worker, did he get vaccinated by presenting a fake health worker certificate?”
The hospital has given a written reply to Nitin Yadav’s RTI application. In it, the information provided says: “According to the records of this office, the first dose of vaccination has been given to Tanmay Fadnavis, age 25, on March 13 at 4:17 am. According to the records, he is classified as a healthcare worker. According to the prevailing procedure, Tanmay Fadnavis has been vaccinated by verifying the government identity card mentioned in the registration in the Covin app.”
As announced by the Central Government, vaccination for citizens in the age group of 18 to 44 years started from May 1. However, despite Tanmay Fadnavis being 25 years old, he was given the first dose of vaccine in the morning of March 13 in Mumbai. He then took a second dose of the vaccine in Nagpur in April. He also posted a photo of himself being vaccinated on social media. However, this photo was deleted after the controversy started. Devendra Fadnavis had also reacted to it. “Tanmay Fadnavis is my distant relative. I have no idea by what criteria he received the vaccine dose. If it is done according to the rules, then there is no reason to object to it. But if the rules are violated, it is totally inappropriate, ”he had said.
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