Rahul Gandhi suspends his Bengal campaign, urges others to ‘think about consequences of holding large rallies’

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that he will be suspending his remaining engagements in West Bengal due to the Covid-19 surge and urged all political leaders to “think about the consequences of holding large public rallies”.

“In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal. I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances,” Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal.

I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 18, 2021

Gandhi’s announcement comes on a day when the country saw its highest single-day spike of over 2.61 lakh Covid-19 cases and active cases in the country surpassed the 18 lakh-mark.

Despite the surge in daily Covid-19 cases, election campaigning in Bengal continues to be in full swing. On Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to hold multiple rallies and roadshows in the state.

Similarly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the face of BJP’s Bengal campaign, held multiple rallies in the state on Saturday. At a rally in Asansol, Modi had said that he was “elated” to see the large crowd that had gathered on ground.

The Congress criticised PM Modi for his statement, with senior party leader P Chidambaram accusing him of showing “shocking callousness” by addressing rallies in West Bengal “instead of staying in Delhi” to handle the Covid pandemic situation.