JOIN USBJP decides to stop big rallies, events in West Bengal owing to Covid-19
Under attack from the Opposition for the poll blitzkrieg in West Bengal despite resurgent Covid-19, BJP on Monday announced that it will stop holding big public events in the state, flagging the need to break the chain of the coronavirus.
"It is much needed to break the chain of Corona infection, which is in a critical state. Keeping this in mind, the BJP has decided to stop organising big rallies, public meetings and events with immediate effect. Hence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all other central leaders will address only small public meetings, which will not have more than five hundred persons attending," a statement by the party said.
This was hours after Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for suspending his election rallies in West Bengal citing a rise in Covid-19 cases.
"It's an alibi as the captain found his ship sinking," Prasad told a press conference while referring to Gandhi's decision to stay away from electioneering in West Bengal due to the second wave of the Covid-19.
After Gandhi had made the announcement, Congress had dared Prime Minister Modi to follow suit. On Sunday, Trinamool Congress had also announced that Mamata Banerjee will not campaigns in Kolkata anymore and has slashed time for all her election rallies in all districts.
The Opposition was repeatedly attacking the BJP leaders including Modi and Amit Shah for the big rallies in the poll-bound states, raising questions on their commitment to the lives of the people. There was also criticism on social media when Modi had on Saturday called for holding only 'symbolic' Kumbh in Uttarakhand to check Covid-19 with Twitterati and Opposition leaders asking whether he will also prescribe only symbolic election campaign by BJP in poll-going states.
The BJP statement comes as a counter in which the party at the outset lauded the Prime Minister's strategy to fight Covid-19 and also recalled how the BJP chief J P Nadda on Sunday began the campaign of 'Apna Booth, Corona Mukt'.
"Even these small public meetings will take place in open places with all Covid guidelines in practice. BJP has kept a target of distributing six crore masks and sanitisers. On the request of the BJP chief, dedicated Corona help desks are being set up in all states and covid helplines are being started," the statement said.
Amid mounting Opposition attacks on the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis, the BJP statement said, "Modi himself is keeping a close watch on all aspects related to the Corona crisis. In his leadership, India has clocked 10 crore vaccination numbers."