In a dig at the Narendra Modi government over its push for self-reliance, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said Russia gave the first lesson to the world on being 'Aatmanirbhar' by introducing a COVID-19 vaccine while India has just been preaching about it. Lauding Russia for the vaccine, Raut, in his weekly
column 'Rokhtokh' in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', said this was a sign of being a superpower, and added that Indian politicians will not follow Russia's example as a model since "they are in love with America".

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced that his country has developed the world's first vaccine against COVID-19 that works "quite effectively" and forms a "stable immunity" against the deadly disease, as he disclosed that one of his daughters has already been vaccinated. "When there was a movement across the globe to prove the Russian vaccine as illegal, Putin used the vaccine as a
trial on his daughter and created self-confidence in his own country," Raut said.