New Delhi: Hours after the Union health ministry suggested postponement of the Bharat Jodo Yatra to Rahul Gandhi over Covid protocols, a miffed Congress on Wednesday alleged the Centre was ignoring similar marches by the BJP.
In his letter sent to Rahul, health minister Mansukh Mandavia suggested that either the Covid protocols should be followed and if that was not possible the yatra should be deferred. "Is the central government only able to see Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party, and the Bharat Jodo Yatra? We will follow the rules and regulations but first, the government has to notify the rules and ensure they apply to everyone,” Congress media head Pawan Khera said.
“Why is the central government not able to see the BJP yatras going on in Rajasthan and Karnataka? We agree that the Congress yatra is attracting huge crowds while the BJP yatras in the two states have thin attendance but we would like to ask the government if similar letters have been written to the BJP heads in the two states,” he said.
According to AICC secretary Manish Chatrath, the government should have come out with specific data and guidelines instead of a general missive, which looks politically motivated. “The yatra has been going on smoothly since September 7 and has passed through several states.
The yatra is in Haryana and will enter Delhi on December 24. Till then I see no problem as the Covid situation is yet not so alarming here. Usually, the government has all such data and must make it public,” Chatrath told ETV Bharat.
Also read: COVID is not over yet: Mandaviya after review meet
“The yatra will go for a break from December 25 and resume on January 3. If the government has data, it should make it public. The BJP is also taking out yatras in states and their leaders were busy campaigning in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls recently. What about them?” he said.
AICC general secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh said the minister’s letter was an "attempt to disrupt" the yatra as the central government was unnerved over the huge public response to the foot march. “They are actually nervous over the success of the yatra and do not know what to do. All this is an attempt to disrupt the yatra,” Shukla said.
The minister’s letter was reportedly based on an appeal made by some BJP leaders over the threat of Covid spreading as Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has tested positive after he joined the yatra recently.
“The minister’s letter to Rahul Gandhi is actually based on similar letters written to him by BJP MP PP Chaudhary where the lawmaker raised some questions related to Covid. But have similar letters been sent to PM Modi and the BJP or the entire problem is with the Bharat Jodo Yatra only. Has the government formulated any new Covid rules,” Congress social media chairman Supriya Shrinate said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot too reacted to the Health Ministry letter and said "there was an impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra in the country which is why they (BJP leaders) are scared".
“There's the impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra in the country. I have seen the letter of Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, they are scared we can see their condition. BJP itself is quite disturbed. A few days ago JP Nadda's Aakrosh rally failed severely in the state,” Gehlot said.
Chhattishgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said the government was looking for new ways to stop the Yatra. "They're looking for new ways to stop yatra. If COVID spreads in the country, Yatra will be impacted. But if it is not the case now, why are they looking for new excuses? When there was Corona, you held polls in West Bengal, Assam, and UP. Now you're making excuses to stop yatra?" Baghel said.
