JMM slams PM Narendra Modi’s call for lighting candles on April 5

TNN | Updated: Apr 4, 2020, 17:31 IST

RANCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to countrymen to light candles, diyas from their doorsteps and balconies for nine minutes on April 5 received a mix response in Jharkhand on Friday.
JMM, the ruling party in the state along with Congress and RJD, took a jibe at Modi. “In this age of science and technology, the use of superstitious practices to combat a global pandemic such as Covid-19 is not acceptable. Beating utensils and lighting candles will not help in warding off the disease,” JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said in a statement.
JMM said while the Union government is trying to fight the disease with such practices, the government does not care to listen to the plights of the state. “The PM held two meetings via video-conference with the CMs but did not hear the problems being faced in Jharkhand,” Bhattacharya said.
BJP welcomed Modi’s move. In a statement, BJP state president Deepak Prakash said the party’s functionaries will light candles on April 5 in response to Modi’s call. “The countrymen have rallied behind the PM in this time of crisis,” Prakash was quoted as saying.
Former chief minister Raghubar Das also welcomed Modi’s call. “The PM has urged to light candles to show unity and solidarity in the fight against Covid-19,” Das was quoted as saying in a statement.