Consulted experts: Health minister on 'suspend Bharat Jodo Yatra' letter

Mansukh Mandaviya, taking note of the public health emergency, wrote to Congress that if following Covid protocols is not possible, the yatra should be postponed in the national interest.

By LAKSHY DREAM FOUNDATION GLOBAL NEWS Web Desk: Experts were consulted before the letter was sent to Rahul Gandhi to suspend the Bharat Jodo Yatra if Covid rules cannot be followed in the rally, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

“Three MPs from Rajasthan wrote to me that a number of Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra participants tested positive for Covid-19. The chief minister of Himachal Pradesh also tested positive after attending the yatra,” Mandaviya said, adding that the MPs urged him to take action since the state will go to polls next year.

“I consulted experts and then wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

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Mansukh Mandaviya today wrote to Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, saying that Covid guidelines should be strictly followed during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and masks and sanitiser must be used.

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The minister, taking note of the public health emergency, also said that if following Covid protocols is not possible, the yatra should be postponed in the national interest.

“Only vaccinated people should participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Follow covid rules or suspend yatra,” the letter said.

The Congress mass outreach rally reached Haryana today. The foot march, which began from Kanyakumari on September 7, marked its 100 days on Friday, during the 12th day of its Rajasthan leg.

So far, the yatra has Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. It will end in Jammu and Kashmir.