Faridabad: The Union government is orchestrating a "Covid drama" to derail and defame Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress Jairam Ramesh alleged.
He added that Congress would obey any protocol based on scientific advice, but only if it is uniformly implemented, PTI reported.
He slammed PM Modi, saying, "We were not the party which gave a solution that the Covid situation (after its outbreak in 2020) will be won in 18 days, like the Mahabharata war".
He reminded about "one gentleman" who issued "balconies and bang 'thalis'" as remedies for the pandemic. Slapping the PM again, he said that he wore the mask longer than the PM wore it yesterday and added that Modi wears masks only for TV.
Ramesh was asked if the government was selectively picking on the yatra after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote to Gandhi to consider suspending the march if Covid protocols could not be followed.
He replied, "Any protocol based on scientific and medical advice that is uniformly implemented will be followed by the Congress party. We have always followed it," he said.
Ramesh said on Thursday that health minister Mandaviya wrote Rahul Gandhi, asking him to follow Covid protocols, was based on the concerns of three MPs and not on the advice of experts.
Ramesh said that he asked the Yatris on Friday morning to wear masks but added that he doesn't understand why the controversy is about when there is no directive or protocol.
The Rahul Gandhi-led Yatra entered Faridabad on the last day of its Haryana leg in the first phase and will reach Delhi on Saturday morning. DMK MP Kanimozhi joined the yatra here, besides some sportspersons.