Junior health minister’s group pic without masks goes viral

Surat: Minister of State for health, Kishore Kanani alias Kumar Kanani is once again in the news. This time for not wearing face masks while posing for a group photograph at an bank function, on Friday.
Kanani’s photo with the employees and beneficiaries of the Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojana (AGSY) has gone viral on social media platforms. The event was organized in Varachha Cooperative Bank located in Varachha (A) zone which has around 1,489 Covid-19 cases.
After the distribution of cheques, Kanani posed for a photograph with some of the beneficiaries and senior bank officials standing close to each other and not wearing masks.
When contacted, the bank’s chairman Kanji Bhalala said, "The entire event was held by following social distancing and other protocols. A photo session was organized with the health minister where my staff employees and I clicked the photo without masks for our memory." Bhalala claimed that only one beneficiary of the 112 identified was called at the bank for a token gesture and minister was asked to hand him the cheque.
Despite repeated attempts, the minister was not available for comments. The state government has hiked the penalty for not wearing a mask from Rs 200 to Rs 500.
Recently, the minister was embroiled in controversy after his son, Prakash Kanani, had a run-in with Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) jawan, Sunita Yadav, over violation of night curfew order last month.
Last week, Kanani’s purported audio too had gone viral after a relative of the diamond worker who succumbed to Covid-19 at SMIMER hospital had called him for help. Kanani had told him that the hospital comes under the purview of SMC and not the state government.