'Had SC taken note of PM's rallies, Kumbh...': Saamna's take on Covid-19 crisis
Shiv Sena's mouth piece Saamna said the Covid-19 crisis in the country could have been averted if the Supreme Court took note of the large public rallies organised by politicians and the flouting of Covid-19 norms at Kumbh Mela.
Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna said that the crisis the country is facing today due to the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) could have been averted had the Supreme Court taken note of the public rallies held by political leaders and the Kumbh Mela in time, news agency ANI reported. "The SC has now taken cognisance of the Covid situation in the country. If the court had taken into consideration the roadshows done by many political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, and the Haridwar Kumbh Mela at the right time, such a situation would not have arisen," it said.
Several politicians came under fire for holding large rallies as part of their campaigning for the ongoing assembly elections. After hundreds of people were seen flouting Covid-19 norms in such rallies, the Election Commission of India (ECI) banned roadshows and vehicle rallies for the remaining phases of the West Bengal elections on Thursday. No public meeting having more than 500 people will be allowed, the poll body said.
Following the order, PM Modi, Amit Shah and West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee were among the top leaders to cancel their rallies in the state. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had suspended all his rallies in West Bengal on April 18 and had urged other leaders to follow suit. "In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal. I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances," he tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Kumbh Mela, underway in Uttarakhand' Haridwar, saw thousands of people who had assembled to take a holy dip on the occasion of shahi snan (royal bath). However, after PM Modi appealed to Swami Avdheshanand Giri last week to turn Kumbh Mela into a "symbolic" event in view of the rapidly spreading virus and key ‘akhadas’ of seers began pulling out of the Maha Kumbh, crowds in Haridwar thinned down "drastically", according to PTI.
India on Friday registered 332,730 fresh cases of Covid-19. With this, the total infection tally went up to 16,263,695. As many as 2263 new deaths pushed the toll to 186920.
(with agency inputs)