EC should immediately stop rallies of political parties: Gehlot

"Elections cannot be postponed due to constitutional provisions, but in view of the circumstances of Covid, the Election Commission should immediately stop the rallies of political parties," Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted on Wednesday.

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the Election Commission (EC) should immediately stop rallies of political parties in view of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

He also said instead of rallies, other means of publicity should be used and since this is the era of information technology, promotion should also be based on IT and social media.

"Elections cannot be postponed due to constitutional provisions, but in view of the circumstances of Covid, the Election Commission should immediately stop the rallies of political parties," the Congress leader wrote on Twitter.

He said the EC should distribute time slots to all the political parties on television channels, radio and other media of communication so that they get equal opportunities for campaigning.

The chief minister also stressed that door-to-door campaigns should be conducted following all the Covid protocols, instead of taking out big rallies.

"Most of us have not yet forgotten the magnitude of the second wave of Covid. In the month of April-May last year, even beds were not available in hospitals and people died due to lack of oxygen," he said.

Now the third wave of the pandemic is staring at the country, Gehlot said, adding that according to experts, no one knows what new form the Omicron variant of the virus will take further.

PTI