Govt Using Covid As An Excuse To Stop Bharat Jodo Yatra: Congress

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Delhi on December 24. It is now on a nine-day break and will resume on January 3 (Image: Bharat Jodo Yatra /Twitter)

(Source: PTI)

The Congress on Tuesday charged that the Government was using Covid as an excuse to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra, as the long march spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi was gaining momentum with every passing day.

“We are very much concerned about the health of the people of this country and the Covid situation as well. This entire drama (of Covid spread) is created to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” AICC general secretary K C Venugopal told reporters in Srinagar.

Venugopal, who was in Srinagar to review the preparations for the Jammu and Kashmir leg of the yatra, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attending public meetings and flights were coming in even from China.

“Flights are coming from China, there is no problem. There is no national level (Covid) protocol suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The PM is attending public meetings and all other government programmes are happening everywhere… there is no problem,” he added.

He asked why the government was only writing a letter to Rahul Gandhi while other programmes are going on without any fuss.

“There is a ‘mela’ going on Gujarat, there is no problem with that. We will follow the protocol – recommended by the experts — when it is issued by the government,” he said.

Venugopal said he was satisfied with the preparations for the yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We had interaction with people from Jammu (yesterday) and today with people of Kashmir. We are happy with the preparations and satisfied. This is going to be a great programme,” he said, adding the people of Jammu and Kashmir are eagerly waiting for this yatra.

The senior Congress leader said the party had a special affection towards Jammu and Kashmir, as the history of the party is “very much connected to Kashmir history”.

He said that during his meeting with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday, the latter assured him of all the cooperation for the yatra.

“This yatra is national padyatra. In Kashmir, we will hoist the national flag on its culmination,” he said.

Venugopal said leaders of regional parties like the National Conference and PDP will join the yatra in the Jammu and Kashmir leg. “Every passing day, the impact of this yatra is increasing. Lakhs of people have taken to this yatra,” he added.

In related news, Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq has accused the Centre of indulging in “propaganda” over Covid and suggested that the BJP is using “political corona” to stop Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Citing concerns raised by three BJP MPs from Rajasthan over the spread of coronavirus, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had last week urged Gandhi to consider suspending the Bharat Jodo Yatra if adherence to Covid protocols, including use of masks and sanitisers, cannot be maintained.

The Congress hit back, accusing the government of selectively picking on the Bharat Jodo Yatra and pointed to the BJP taking out marches in Karnataka and Rajasthan.

“As far as the propaganda regarding corona is concerned, it is a political corona. It is the political corona of the BJP,” Barq told reporters in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Delhi on Saturday, December 24. It is now on a nine-day break and will resume on January 3.

Amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in some countries, the government has advised people to get vaccinated and wear masks. RT-PCR tests have been made mandatory for passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

Three cases of the Omicron subvariant BF.7, apparently the strain driving China’s current surge of Covid cases, have been detected in India.