A Covid-19 vaccine beneficiary shows his vaccination certificate on his mobile phone.
Credit: PTI File Photo
The Union health ministry has made a significant change and removed the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from CoWIN certificates which were issued to people during the Covid-19 vaccinations.
When the country was vaccinating itself against the disease, vaccine certificates which were issued to those who got their shot.
These certificates bore the face of the prime minister along with the quote, "Together, India will defeat COVID-19". However, now the certificates only showcase the said quote attributed to the prime minister, without his name and picture.
This issue came into limelight after many users took to social media to point out this change
The Ministry of health and family welfare stated that prime minister's photograph was taken down due to the implementation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
However, this isn't the first time that Modi's photograph was removed from the certificate. During the assembly elections in 2022—Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa removed Modi's photograph from the vaccination certificate due to a mandate by the Election Commission.
Earlier in 2021, the issue of Modi's photograph displayed on the vaccination certificate had sparked controversy. A plea had been filed in Kerala High Court seeking the removal of the same. However, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan had asked the petitioner whether he was ashamed of the prime minister.
Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said the Prime Minister was elected to power by the people of the country and therefore, what was wrong with having his photograph on the vaccination certificate.
However, due to AstraZeneca's recent admission of the Covishield vaccine having rare side effects, many users speculated his removal of photograph was linked to that. But that wasn't the case.