While wishing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan a speedy recovery from COVID-19, former CM Kamal Nath said that he should have taken the pandemic seriously rather than joking about it, here on Saturday.
"Shivraj ji, I was deeply saddened to learn that you have been infected by the coronavirus. I pray to God for your speedy recovery. But I feel regret that when we were serious about COVID-19, you sometimes called it a drama, sometimes you called it a dar-o-na (should not be afraid of corona), sometimes you called it a ploy or a weapon to save the (Congress) government." he tweeted in Hindi.
He further said that the Congress government "from the very beginning" has been saying that that COVID-19 is a serious disease.
"We from the very beginning said that this is a deadly disease and one must be cautious, careful and follow all the protocols," read his second tweet.
Former chief minister further said that even Chouhan could have prevented himself from being infected by COVID-19 had he "followed protocols and not joked about it".
"Perhaps, you could have been more careful and followed the safety guidelines. Had you not joked about it, you could have been prevented from getting infected from the virus, But, it doesn't matter, I wish that you recover soon and resume work," he said later.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
"I was having COVID-19 symptoms. After the test, my report came back positive. I appeal to all my friends that whoever has come in contact with me, should get their corona test done. Those who came in close contact with me should quarantine," he said in a tweet.
The 61-year-old chief minister said he is following all guidelines and has quarantined himself as per the advice of doctor. He also appealed to people of the state to be careful.
"I made all possible effort to avoid corona but people used to meet me for various issues," said Chouhan in a series of tweets.
The Chief Minister stated he has been reviewing the coronavirus situation every evening since March 25. "I will now try to review Corona situation through video conferencing as possible," he said.
According to the latest data from Union Health Ministry, Madhya Pradesh has 7,553 active cases of coronavirus with 17,866 cured/migrated/discharged and 791 deaths.
