Covid doesn’t affect BJP workers as they 'work hard', says Gujarat MLA Govind Patel

BJP MLA and former state science and technology minister Govind Patel on Sunday said that workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were not infected by the novel Coronavirus because they worked hard. Govind Patel was interacting with the media after attending a meeting of local MLAs, MPs and corporators of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) and local state government officers for speeding up the vaccination drive.

Gujarat MLA: 'BJP workers work hard'

Patel, while speaking to reporters, said, "Those who work, do labour work, remain unaffected by the Coronavirus. Workers of BJP have done labour work and none of them has been affected."

Stating that the states are responsible for the recent spike in the COVID-19 cases, Patel blamed people for not complying with guidelines for Covid compliant behaviour. The Gujarat MLA said, "People are seen to behave irresponsibly. They are not wearing a face mask while moving on roads, they sit in crowds while dining in a restaurant or having refreshment at lari-galla or paan shops, they form mobs."

Later, he took back his words and said that adding 'BJP' was a mistake. Speaking too ANI, he said, "I wanted to say that labourers don't contract coronavirus, but added 'BJP' also in the same sentence, which is a mistake. I take my words back."

Incidentally, Patel himself had contracted Covid-19 a few months ago but had recovered from the disease without any major complications. Earlier, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, state BJP unit chief CR Patil and several ruling party MLAs had tested positive for the virus.

COVID-19 outbreak in Gujarat

As the country continues to battle against the Coronavirus pandemic, Gujarat so far has recorded over 2,85,429 positive cases, out of which 2,74,249 have successfully recovered and 4,443 have died. According to the latest reports shared by MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 1,565 new cases, 969 fresh recoveries and 6 deaths have been reported. As of now, the total number of active cases in Gujarat is 6,737. 

Meanwhile, India so far has recorded over 1,15,99,130 positive COVID-19 cases, out of which 1,11,30,288 have recovered and 1,59,755 have died. As per MoHFW reports, in the last 24 hours, 43,846 new cases, 22,956 new recoveries and 197 deaths have been reported. The total number of active cases in India is 3,09,087.