'Congress opposing vehicle ban rule for political benefits'

BJP district spokesperson Mahesh Jaini accused Congress of playing with the lives of people by opposing the restrictions at the Kodagu-Kerala border.

He said that Congress has been protesting against the ban on vehicles from Kerala to Kodagu only for political benefits.

"Even though there has been a rise in Covid-19 cases again, the Congress has urged the government to allow the movement of vehicles from Kerala through Makutta. Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah had requested the state government to take stringent measures on the borders, for people's safety. This has considerably reduced the new positive cases of Covid-19 in the district," said Jaini.

He further said that the pandemic has not been controlled in Kerala and hundreds of people are being infected with Covid-19.

Now, there is a possibility of the third wave of Covid-19 and also the fear of the new Omicron variant of the virus. The state government has issued strict guidelines to increase the surveillance at the border, he added.

But, Congress, along with the Communist Party, has been playing vote bank politics. The party has also been creating panic among people, he said.

Congress has been spreading false information that the RT-PCR report, which has been made mandatory at the border, has been creating problems for the people. In fact, this rule has saved the district from more infections, said Jaini.

The BJP district spokesperson also said that the state government knows what needs to be done for the protection of people's health.

Instead of staging protests on silly issues, the Congress should think about safeguarding the interests of the people of Kodagu, he said and urged authorities to initiate action against the Congress leaders who posed a hindrance to officials executing their duty, by staging protests.