E-Paper
Tourist entry restricted in HP but political rallies go on unabated
Himachal Pradesh has added 5,600 fresh Covid infections to its tally since the last week of July, while 43 people have lost their lives. Significantly, the positivity rate has jumped from 0.9% to 2.3%
With the spectre of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic looming large on Himachal Pardesh, the state has imposed restrictions on tourist entry in the state. However, it is yet to put a lid on political gatherings despite the continuous upsurge in Covid infections over the last three weeks.
The hill-state has added 5,600 fresh Covid infections to its tally since the last week of July, while 43 people have lost their lives. Significantly, the positivity rate has jumped from 0.9% to 2.3%.
Large crowds are turning up at public meets called by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and his cabinet colleagues in the run up to bypolls in the state. Little attention is paid to social distancing and just a few people mask-up. Often political leaders themselves flout Covid protocols with abandon. For instance, the CM and BJP state chief Suresh Kashyap removed their masks while complying to selfie requests on the sidelines of a public meeting and two former MPs Rajan Sushant and Kripal Parmar sparred at a public event at Fatehpur assembly segment.
Not to be left behind, the Congress has also been holding large political events at poll-bound constituencies as well.
History repeating itself
A similar trend was seen during the second wave of the pandemic. Himachal’s daily case numbers, which had been steadily declining since November 2020 began rising in February-end. Virus transmission picked pace in March and peaked in April, outpacing the positivity rate during the first wave.
It is no coincidence that at that time too political parties had been campaigning for local council elections. However, the state government had attributed the spike in cases to people’s negligence during social events. Notwithstanding that Covid norms had been brazenly flouted during election rallies.
On August 13, restrictions were placed on the entry of tourists to Himachal Pradesh. Now, people going to Himachal will have to either show a RT-PCR negative report (not older than 72 hours) or a RAT negative report (not older than 24 hours). Those who are fully vaccinated do not need to furnish a Covid negative report.
The state government also closed down schools and public transport is running with 50% occupancy. However, the government did not ban political or social events.
Onus on the public
BJP’s chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma said, “The first and second waves were caused due to an influx of visitors from outside the state. We always appeal to people to follow Covid protocols at rallies. Even Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur, who is visiting the state on a week-long tour, has appealed everybody to follow Covid norms.”
Echoing his BJP counterpart, Congress spokesperson Naresh Chauhan said, “The Congress is strictly following Covid norms and our party is not holding big events,” adding, “However, the same cannot be said for the ruling dispensation.”
Bypolls for the Mandi parliamentary constituency and three assembly segments — Fatehpur, Arki, and Jubbal-Kotkhai — are likely to be held in September. Both, the BJP and Congress, are holding a series of political events in these constituencies. Once the elections are announced, there will be poll campaigns by the parties and the candidates, which usually draw large crowds and may trigger a third wave.
