Amid Coronavirus surge, NCP neta organises meeting in Solapur; police registers case

Amid the evident surge in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, a large number of NCP workers gathered for a by-poll meeting in Pandharpur town of Solapur on Sunday. Given that this is the clear violation of norms for Covid-19 announced by the state government, the police registered a case against the organiser of this gathering - NCP's Pandharpur taluka president Vijay Deshmukh.

The meeting was addressed by state unit president and minister Jayant Patil. It was held in the wake of the Pandharpur- Mangalvedha Assembly by-poll scheduled to be held on April 17. Shockingly, most workers gathered here did not wear face masks, which happens to be the first shield against the virus. Moreover, PTI quoted Patil while he was sarcastic in commenting on the pandemic, saying "It seems coronavirus has left the world as I can see your faces (without masks)."

'After seeing your faces, I am pretty sure that there is no corona'

Patil further told the gathered NCP workers "After seeing your faces, I am pretty sure that there is no corona (virus) in the world now…so I am also removing my mask while speaking." However, when he was approached by a few reporters for clarification over his statements on the virus, Patil opined he was being sarcastic. 

Whatever I said, was in sarcasm: NCP Minister Jayant Patil

"Whatever I said (at the meeting) was sarcasm. People were sitting in the meeting as if COVID-19 has ended. No one was wearing a face mask. During my speech, I also talked about the serious situation caused by a surge in infections in Maharashtra," he said. Meanwhile, he highlighted that rallies were being held in the state for polls, but no one wears a mask. He added "People are behaving as if they will never contract COVID-19 or they might be thinking that all of them are vaccinated. But this is not right."

It must be noted that this gathering took place at a time when Maharashtra has emerged as one of the few states worse hit by  Covid-19. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray reviewed the situation in the state for two weeks and has recently announced that lockdown will be imposed on weekends, while Section 144 and curfew will be in place all days of the week, until April 30. The gathering of 5 or more at one place is strictly prohibited and violators of norms will face legal action.