New Delhi: At a time when coronavirus cases are on the rise across the country, BJP leader and state minister Govind Singh Rajput in the Madhya Pradesh government landed in controversy after he was caught on camera violating social distancing norms in a programme held in the state on Saturday.
The state minister was seen in visuals shared on the social media addressing a large number of followers at a hall in Rahatgarh town. In the visuals, it was also seen most men sitting in the audience were not wearing masks.
The incident happened on Saturday when the minister had gone to meet his followers in the Surkhi constituency where bypolls are due after his resignation. As per updates, he is the BJP’s most likely candidate from the constituency.
In the visuals, the minister was seen shouting slogans to the camera and violated the social distancing norms despite repeated appeals by PM Modi. The development comes at a time when the COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh reached 10641 on Saturday after 198 new cases were detected.
With seven patients succumbing to the infection in the day, the death toll rose to 447. The number of COVID-19 cases in the state increased by 2,552 since lockdown restrictions were eased after May 31, while 97 people lost their lives during the same period.
The number of cases in Indore increased by 57 to reach 4,029, while the death toll stood at 166. Bhopal has 2,145 COVID-19 cases, and 69 have succumbed to the infection.
Mosque’s smart card to avoid crowding
Kozhikode (Kerala): A mosque in Kuttichira of Kozhikode has found a unique way to avoid crowding amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee that runs the mosque has started issuing smart cards to people for offering prayers and simultaneously encouraging social distancing.
“The committee has given smart cards with numbers to the people in the surroundings of the masjid. One who enters the premises has to rub hands with sanitisers. They have to tell their identity on camera. The automatic system has been put in place to save the address and phone number. Next time onwards they have to say smart card number only so other details will be automatically filled. The mosque’s door will open automatically after swiping the card. We have fit in a sensor on the doors. We have made marks inside the mosque so people can abide by social distancing norm,” said Muhammad Sajjad, part of the panel.
