Jamaat incident a wake up call; Ensure no religious congregations take place : President Kovind

As COVID-19 cases in the country registered a spike after the controversial Jamaat gathering in Delhi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday asked the states to treat it as a “wake up call” and asked them to ensure that no religious congregations should take place in their respective states.

Holding a second consecutive video conference meeting with Governors and Lt Governors of 21 states and UTs, Kovind said the gathering of migrant workers in Anand Vihar and the congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin have caused a setback to the efforts.

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Naidu asked them to urge the religious leaders to advise their followers to “strictly adhere to the guidelines on social distancing and to observe personal hygiene”, a suggestion which came in the background of the Jamaat gathering fall out on shooting up of COVID 19 cases across the country and incidents of some of the Jamaat event attendees in quarantine spitting on roads when being taken to quarantine centres, which evoked strong criticism on social media.

“We faced problems because of movements of Tablighi Jamaat,” said the Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Shri Girish Chandra Murmu. The Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Admiral D K Joshi ((Retd.) said that 10 positive COVID-19 cases in the UT were related to Tablighi Jamaat. “All those who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat event are quarantined after identifying them,” he informed during the meeting.

The Ladakh Lt Governor Radha Krishna Mathur expressed concern over the rise in cases due to the return of pilgrims from Iran where some of them had been infected.

Vice President Naidu, who spoke at length on the issue asked the Governors and LGs of states and UTs to contact spiritual and religious leaders in their respective regions and advise them to guide their followers to “strictly adhere to the guidelines” to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

Naidu made a mention of the Jamaat gathering, which has caused widespread adverse impact across the country and said it was “avoidable action”.

Speaking on the migrant workers, Kovind emphasized the need to ensure that no one remains hungry during the nationwide lockdown and asked other participants in the conference to deliberate upon the ways and means to ensure this.

He also noted with concern the incidents of attacks on doctors, health workers and police personnel in some parts of the country.

Describing the incidents of assault on doctors in some states as unfortunate and condemnable, Naidu asked the Governors to sensitize the people on the crucial, life-saving role being undertaken by doctors, nurses and other frontline warriors such as sanitary staff and police personnel in the battle against COVID-19 and said the real reasons behind such attacks have to be ascertained