Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that it was “not right” to link the surge in coronavirus cases in India to elections, The I...
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that it was “not right” to link the surge in coronavirus cases in India to elections, The Indian Express reported.
Assembly elections have concluded for Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. In the eight-phase West Bengal elections, the last three rounds are still pending.
In an interview to The Indian Express, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the coronavirus cases were rising even in states where elections were not taking place. “Are elections taking place in Maharashtra?” he asked. “As many as 60,000 cases are there, while there are 4,000 here [in West Bengal]. I care about both the states. Cases surged in states where there were no elections. What will you say now?”
The Union minister attributed the massive jump in coronavirus cases to mutations. “Many countries are seeing the surge,” he told The Indian Express. “Scientists are studying it and a conclusion on this will be premature.”
Shah said that while discussions were underway with stakeholders, the current situation does not require the government to impose a lockdown in a hurry. “Initially, the purpose of the lockdown was different,” he told the newspaper. “We wanted to prepare infrastructure and the line of treatment. We did not have any...
