New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party said on Saturday that the Union government must issue strict protocols to prevent Covid-19 spread. Everyone in the country must follow it, no matter if it is a political party or someone who is conducting a march. The statement was a veiled reference to Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra, PTI reported.
AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha said that the Union government must avoid the pandemic in 2020 and '21 during the first and second waves.
He alleged that it was due to the BJP-led Centre's lack of understanding of the seriousness of the initial scientific indications India witnessed a severe crisis during the first two waves.
Chadha, AAP's Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, said, "So far as I know, the Centre has not yet issued any mandatory protocols. If such protocols are issued, everyone must show respect to them and follow, be it a political party or someone taking out any yatra."
He suggested that the government must monitor all the flights coming to India carrying passengers directly or indirectly from China and, if needed, ban them too.
"Prevention is better than cure," he added.
A war of words erupted between the Congress and the BJP after the Union health minister wrote to Mr Gandhi earlier this week asking him to consider suspending his party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' if adherence to the Covid protocols cannot be followed.
In a letter addressed to Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday, Mr Mandaviya said three MPs from Rajasthan -- PP Chaudhary, Nihal Chand, and Devji Patel -- have flagged concerns and requested that Covid protocols, including the use of masks and sanitisers, be strictly followed during the march and only those who are vaccinated be allowed to participate.
Hitting back, Mr Gandhi on Friday said the ruling party can hold as many public meetings as it wants in the rest of India but sees Covid only where his Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing through. The former Congress president had earlier accused the government of coming up with "excuses" to stop the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir yatra.
Nothing can prevent the Bharat Jodo Yatra from moving forward, the Congress asserted, asking the BJP to "stop playing politics in the garb of the Covid pandemic" and trying to "stall" the march, which entered the national capital on Saturday morning.