An Indian man went to court to complain about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s self-promotion as directing the country’s COVID vaccination campaign, but a judge fined him more than $1,300 on the grounds that he wasted his time.
The Hindu nationalist leader has been the focus of a massive advertising campaign promoting his government’s achievements in fighting the pandemic despite the death of nearly 500,000 Indians due to COVID-19.
His face has been plastered on billboards and even on passenger planes, along with a message glorifying that India has reached the threshold of one billion vaccinations given to the population.
The campaign contrasts with harsh criticism leveled at the Modi government since the pandemic began, with opponents calling for the prime minister’s face to be printed on death certificates for Covid victims.
Peter Mayaliparambil from the southern Indian state of Kerala objected to Modi’s face being printed on his vaccine certificate along with a message urging the public to adhere to preventive measures against the Corona virus.
He told a court that the vaccination campaign in India had turned into a “media campaign” in Modi’s favour.
In his petition, Mayaliparambil said he had paid for his own vaccine and that Modi’s picture on his testimony was “no use or wisdom in it”.
But the Kerala High Court dismissed the case, saying it appeared to be politically motivated, and fined him 100,000 rupees ($1322) for wasted time.
“If the petitioner… is ashamed to see a picture of his prime minister, he can take his eyes off the underside of the vaccination certificate,” the court ruling said.
Mayaliparambil’s lawyer told AFP that his client would appeal the decision.
India has recorded more than 477,000 confirmed deaths from Covid, more than any other country except the United States and Brazil.
The government justified the use of Modi as the face of the media campaign, as the Minister of Health told Parliament in August that this campaign had created awareness about the prevention of the Corona virus.