Cong told to follow ‘Covid protocol’ in yatra, party hits back

0
109

[google-translator]

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot to consider suspending the Bharat Jodo Yatra if adherence to Covid-19 protocols cannot be followed, triggering a sharp reaction from the party which said “public health is far too serious an issue to play party politics on”.

The Congress also raised a counter question to Mandaviya on whether Covid-19 protocols were followed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallies during the recently-concluded Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

To be sure, currently, there are no restrictions imposed by state governments on rallies or any kind of large gatherings that were effective under the Disaster Management Act during the peak of the pandemic, which was withdrawn on March 23.

On March 23, the Centre wrote to states saying social activities, including those involving large gatherings, may be resumed but advised that a decision must be taken on the basis of a “careful analysis of the local situation, areas to be covered, and probability of transmission.”

Since the letter was advisory in nature, states are not bound to implement it.

The spread of the virus is also among the lowest in open air, although crowds in close proximity do still carry an outbreak risk.

The Congress’s yatra began on September 8 from Kanyakumari. It entered Haryana from Rajasthan on Wednesday morning.

In a letter to Gandhi and Gehlot, Mandaviya cited concerns raised by three Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs who, he said, requested him to ensure that Covid-19 protocols are followed during the march. HT has seen the letter.

Mandaviya said the use of masks and sanitisers be strictly implemented and only those people who are fully vaccinated should be allowed to participate in the nationwide rally.

“MPs from Rajasthan – PP Chaudhry, Nihal Chand and Devji Patel – expressed concerns about the spread of Covid disease because of the rally (the letter has been attached)…,” Mandaviya said.

“If it is not feasible to follow the guidelines then, in the view of public health emergency and to avoid the spread of disease, Bharat Jodo Yatra must be cancelled in the larger interest of the country. I hope you will act soon on the points raised by the MPs,” he added.

Later in the day, Mandaviya told reporters that the letter was sent as several participants of the rally were found to be Covid-19 positive. “To ensure that the disease does not spread in Rajasthan, I sought expert advice from the health ministry, and based on that, I wrote to the in-charge of the yatra..,” he said.

Union minister Anurag Thakur echoed the health minister’s sentiments that Covid-19 protocols must be adhered to. “I want to ask whether the specific family is above all protocols. I can believe that the family gets more importance in the party than its president but they have to follow Covid protocols,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Reacting sharply to the letter, the Congress accused the Union government of selectively picking on the yatra and pointed to the BJP taking out marches in Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Gehlot said the letter was not issued in public interest but was “politically motivated” and that the BJP is fearing public support for the Congress.

“Lakhs of people are joining the yatra. The central government is so scared that Union ministers are writing such letters. Our yatra is going on and will further continue ahead. Upset with the rising public support for Bharat Jodo Yatra, BJP’s aim is to disturb it,” he said.

The Rajasthan chief minister pointed at PM Modi’s recent rallies without any Covid-19 protocols. “PM Modi did rallies in Tripura two days ago where no Covid protocols were followed. During the second wave (April-June 2021) of Covid also, the PM held rallies in West Bengal. If the Union health minister’s objective is not political and his concern is justified, then he should have written the first letter to the Prime Minister,” he said.

In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Parliament is functioning normally. “Masks are no longer compulsory anywhere, including on flights. The BJP has taken out yatras in Rajasthan and Karnataka. There has been no advisory from the Centre to states of late except the one issued yesterday on genome sequencing,” he said.

“Public health is far too serious an issue on which to play party politics. If there is a protocol for gatherings, Bharat Jodo Yatra will abide by it undoubtedly,” he added.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar also took a dig at the Centre on the matter. “It should be known why they had become laidback over Covid, in the first place, and why they have certainly become vigilant now when the Congress people are taking out a yatra,” he said.


Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here