Navjot Sidhu finally wears mask in public

Last week, he had thrice moved in public without a mask in Amritsar, citing WHO guidelines that did not mandate a healthy person wear one; Punjab has made it compulsory, CM had ordered strict compliance of the decision

After defying Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s order of mandatorily wearing a mask in public a number of times in recent days, Congress MLA from Amritsar (East) Navjot Singh Sidhu made an appearance with his face, nose and mouth masked with a handkerchief on Monday.

Congress MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu wearing a handkerchief as a mask at a public gathering at Daburji in Amritsar on Monday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

He, accompanied by local councillors, distributed ration to the needy in Daburji area, on the outskirts of the city.

Last week, he had visited Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, which is part of Government Medical College, Amritsar, thrice to distribute masks, PPE kits, etc to health personnel and others, without a mask. When questioned, Sidhu had said according to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, wearing a mask was not required for a healthy person. On Friday, the CM had ordered strict action against anyone violating his government’s orders on wearing a mask.

On whether the course correction had anything to do with the CM’s reiterating of his order, Sidhu repeated his WHO argument, adding, “If our government wants me to wear a mask, I have no objection to it.”