The Gujarat government has ordered an inquiry into bogus Covid vaccine certificates allegedly issued in the names of Bollywood celebrities such as Juhi Chawla, Jaya Bachchan and Mahima Chaudhary in Junagadh district.
The issue of fake Covid certification was highlighted by Congress MLA Imran Khedawala during Question Hour. While asking a question on Covaxin booster doses given in the state, Khedawala told the House: “In Junagadh, vaccine certificates have been issued to celebrities such as Jaya Bachchan, Mahima Chaudhary and Juhi Chawla. These people do not stay in Gujarat. Does the government plan to take any action?”
However, Speaker Shankar Chaidhary chided Congress MLA a couple of times saying, “He (Khedawala) has no interest in subjects concerning people and he asksed the question to get publicity in the media.”
The state government pointed out that it had organised special camps to inoculate people with “protection dose” where people without identity cards were vaccinated. In his reply, State Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said the government has been giving “protection dose” as a precautionary measure against Covid-19 for the past one year and at present, there are only 68 active Covid cases in Gujarat.
“The Government of India got a lot of representations saying that a number of people — sadhus and poor — do not have identity documents and they also need to be included in the vaccination process. We held special sessions for those without identity documents even in Gujarat,” the minister said without delving into the issue.
When Congress leader in the House Amit Chavda reiterated the question asked by Khedawala, minister Patel replied: “A primary verification through a team of consultants has been conducted and an inquiry has also been ordered.”
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