“Do you want us to stop campaigning in the elections? Should we not contest the elections?” asked Delhi Health Minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain when asked why his party was holding rallies amid the rising cases of COVID-19.
While Jain was briefing the media today over the COVID-19 situation in Delhi, one of the reporters asked why his party was holding rallies in poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa despite the sharp spike in coronavirus cases across the country.
To this, Jain responded: “Matlab aap ye chahte hain ki hum prachar karna band kar dein? Kamaal kar rahe hain aap toh! Matlab hum election na ladein? Delhiye humne example set kiya hai, humne Delhi ke andar saari pabandiyan lagayi hain (Do you want us to stop campaigning in the elections? What are you talking? Should we not contest the elections, is that what you want? We have already set an example by imposing all possible restrictions in Delhi).”
The Aam Aadmi Party is posing a direct challenge to the Congress in Punjab where the former stunned both the Grand Old Party and the BJP last month with a spectacular show in the Chandigarh municipal corporation elections. It is also contesting the polls in UP, Goa and Uttarakhand as Kejriwal eyes national expansion of his party.
Meanwhile, Congress postponed its postponed its ‘Ladki Hun Lad Sakti Hun’ marathon rallies in Uttar Pradesh. While the party cited rise in COVID-19 cases, the move came a day after a “stampede-like situation” during a marathon organised by the party in Bareilly on Tuesday.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also cancelled a government function in Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Thursday because it has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
The Allahabad High Court last month asked the Election Commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defer the UP polls, if only by a few months. However, after a meeting between Union Health Ministry and the Election Commission, it was announced the polls would be held as scheduled.
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