JMM and Congress, key parties of the ruling alliance in Jharkhand, welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of free vaccines for all above 18 but added that the BJP-led government at the Centre was forced to do so after it was "exposed" beacuse of poor planning.

JMM’s general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharjee said, “The big U-turn on vaccination comes after Supreme Court’s intervention which questioned the Government of India’s vaccination policy. Jharkhand, and many other states, have been constantly raising the issue.”

Even though chief minister Hemant Soren had announced that the state government would provide free vaccines for the 18-44 age group, he had to write to the Union government to demand free vaccines for all from the Centre's coffers. In his letter, Hemant rued that a poor state like Jharkhand was being forced into excess spending which would pose hurdles in its overall development.

State finance minister and president of Jharkhand Congress Rameshwar Oraon said that Modi’s announcement was an indirect testimony to his government’s lapses. “The Congress has been regularly demanding free vaccines for all at various platforms. Our central leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, has been constantly demanding for it since long. It’s good that some wisdom has finally prevailed.”

Oraon demanded that the Centre compensate all states on the expenses incurred while buying vaccines for 18-44 years. “The free vaccine scheme will start from June 21. Till then, states will have to procure their own stocks. We demand that all the states be paid back the money used to by stocks for immunising those between 18 and 44,” he said.

Oroan said that never in India’s history had states been asked to buy vaccines by the Centre. “But the BJP government began a bad trend this time for reasons best known to it. But it’s good that it is trying to correct itself. We hope that it will ensure equitable distribution of vaccines in the coming weeks,” he said.