For BJP, Covid Is Where Bharat Jodo Yatra Is: Rahul Gandhi

FILE PHOTO: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi waves at supporters during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' (PTI)

(Source: PTI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday targeted the BJP, saying they can hold as many public meetings as they want in the rest of India but see Covid in places the Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing through.

His fresh attack came a day after he said the government is coming up with “excuses” to stop the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra, which is currently in Haryana and will enter the national capital on Saturday.

“Now, (the Union) health minister is writing me (a) letter that Covid has come back, stop the yatra. In the rest of India, BJP can hold as many public meetings as they want, but where Bharat Jodo Yatra is going on, there is Corona and Covid,” Gandhi said addressing a public meeting on Friday evening.

Targeting the BJP, he said a select few are spreading hate and they want farmers and the youth to have fear in their hearts so they can convert it into hatred. “But India’s common people including farmers and the youth are speaking the language of love, walking together and moving hand-in-hand,” he said. He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is against unemployment, inflation, fear and hatred.

As the yatra gears up to enter Delhi on Saturday, the Congress and the BJP continued to indulge in a war of words over Covid protocol. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday accused the government of orchestrating the “Covid drama” to defame the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and added that the party will follow any protocol based on scientific advice that is uniformly implemented. Addressing the media on Friday, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that the Union Health Minister wrote a letter to Rahul even before the Indian government declared a medical emergency in the country, or discussed the new Covid variant. “There hasn’t been much impact in India. But we should be alert,” he added.

The Congress also questioned the BJP about its yatras in Karnataka and Rajasthan, and asked if Mandaviya had sent letters to its organisers also.

Meanwhile, slamming Rahul Gandhi for continuing with the yatra, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday: “Bharat Jodo Yatra has been going on for more than a month. Once again the world is hit by the Covid-19 crisis and the Government of India has taken appropriate steps, then why is the Congress party opposing it? Protocols are for everyone.”

Taking a dig at the Congress, Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said: “I want Rahul Gandhi to continue (Bharat Jodo Yatra). There is a track record that wherever he goes, Congress will be defeated there but I hope he’ll follow health guidelines.”

In the wake of the sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases in many countries, especially China and the US, Mandaviya on Wednesday reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the country and directed officials to be alert and strengthen surveillance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting on Thursday, wherein he directed officials to strengthen surveillance measures and urged people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.

The yatra, which will halt on Friday night in Faridabad, will enter Delhi from the Badarpur border on Saturday.