A day after after SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav got vaccinated, his son and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a complete U-turn, said on Tuesday that he would take the Covid vaccine and also appeal to those who could not get the jabs due to vaccine shortage to get vaccinated.

Akhilesh also took a dig at the Centre and PM Narendra Modi’s latest announcement regarding change in the national vaccine policy and said that the step was taken due to public anger. He added that he would also take part in the vaccination drive now.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Akhilesh wrote, “Looking at the public outrage, the government has finally announced that it would take control of vaccination instead of politicising it. We were against the BJP's vaccine, but welcome the vaccine of the Government of India. We will also get vaccinated and would appeal to all those who could not get it due to a lack of vaccine doses.”

Earlier, Akhilesh had said on January 2 that he would not get vaccinated as BJP could not be trusted. “I will not take the vaccine at this moment. That too given by BJP. How can I trust BJP’s vaccine, not a chance? When our government will be formed, everyone will get a free vaccine. We cannot take the BJP vaccine,” he had said.

SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav got vaccinated at a private hospital in Lucknow on Monday and it was hailed by the state BJP unit as a good message. The ruling also said that the SP workers and its president should take inspiration from Mulayam.