'No Covid protocol was followed by PM-Modi led BJP': Congress leaders hit back after Health Minister writes to Rahul Gandhi

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) aim is to disturb the Bharat Jodo Yatra, "fearing the increasing public support." This comes a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote a letter to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi asking him to ensure that Covid rules are strictly followed in the yatra.

The Union Health Minister, in a letter, said that Covid guidelines must be strictly followed during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the use of mask, sanitiser be implemented, according to a report by news agency ANI. Moreover, it added that only vaccinated people must participate in the yatra.

Furthermore, Mandaviya also mentioned in the letter that if the Covid-19 protocols are not possible, then the Bharat Jodo Yatra should be postponed in the national interest, taking note of the public health emergency.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan was completed on the morning of 21st December, but the BJP and Modi government is so scared of the huge crowd gathered here that the Union Health Minister is writing a letter on 20th December to Rahul Gandhi to follow the Covid protocol in Rajasthan," Gehlot said in a tweet.

He further added that the party's aim is to disturb the Bharat Jodo Yatra fearing the increasing public support.

Furthermore, Gehlot also accused the BJP of double standards. "Two days ago, the Prime Minister held a rally in Tripura where no Covid protocol was followed. In the second wave of Covid, PM did big rallies in Bengal," he said.

The state Chief Minister also mentioned that if the purpose of the Union Health Minister is not political, then his concern is justified. "He should have written the first letter to the Prime Minister," Gehlot pointed.

Earlier, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also questioned the sudden attention towards the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He told ANI, “I haven't seen the letter but what are the Covid protocols today? We don't seem to be having any enforceable Covid protocols in any other public gatherings. Why this sudden attention to Bharat Jodo Yatra if not that it is rankling the BJP?”

Even Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also questioned the BJP on whether such protocols were followed during PM Modi's election rallies during Gujarat polls.

The Congress party's Bharat Jodo Yatra began on September 7 and has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It has currently entered Haryana and will end in Jammu and Kashmir by January 26, as per reports.

Also Read: Covid surge: Health minister writes to Rahul Gandhi to follow Covid rules or suspend Bharat Jodo Yatra