Mandaviya mandates Covid protocol for Bharat Jodo; says it's his duty
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New Delhi: Following intimation from three Rajasthan MPs, Union Health Minister Mansukh Madnaviya wrote Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, telling them to follow Covid-19 protocols in the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The letter had caused a stir in the Congress party, and its members began questioning the Union minister. This prompted him to react on Wednesday, claiming that it is his duty to ensure that Covid doesn't spread in the country, IANS reported.
Mandaviya told reporters, "It is my duty to ensure that Covid doesn't spread in the country. If someone thinks about how a minister can question them, then what can we do about their mindset? Questioning me on this is like obstructing me from doing my duty."
The minister said that many people who attended Rahul's Yatra got tested Covid-19 positive. He alleged that the party was unnecessarily making his letter a political issue.
He said, "Three Rajasthan MPs had written to me that a number of Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra participants had been detected Covid positive. The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister also tested positive after attending this yatra".
"In the letter, the MPs had asked me to take action to prevent the spread of Covid in Rajasthan," he said.
He claimed that to prevent the spread of the deadly virus in Rajasthan, he sought experts' opinions and wrote the two Congress leaders mandating them to enforce Covid-19 protocols in their Yatra.
He added that as the health minister of the country, it is his responsibility to ensure the health of the citizens. He alleged that to defend the Gandhi family, questions were raised about him, and he was being obstructed from doing his