With coronavirus cases seeing a sudden spurt in the country, the Congress on Wednesday decided to put on hold all its big public rallies and functions, including marathons, in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, reported news agency ANI.
According to NDTV, even Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has cancelled a government function in Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Thursday because it has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
"Congress has decided to postpone major rallies in Uttar Pradesh and other poll-bound states. We have asked state units to assess the COVID-19 situation in their states& take a decision on holding rallies," Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal told ANI.
Uttar Pradesh Congress has postponed its 'Ladki Hun Lad Sakti Hun' marathon due to rise in COVID-19 cases. 7 to 8 marathons were planned in Noida, Varanasi, and various other districts of the states in the coming days, reported ANI.
The UP Congress Committee has written to Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra "to cancel big rallies in view of anticipated third COVID-19 wave...; suggests EC to stop PM, CM Yogi Adityanath from using government machinery/money for inaugurations & making political statements at these events."
A decision will also be taken by Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) in other poll-bound states like Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur soon, a Congress leader told PTI.
The AICC has asked all PCCs in the poll-bound states to assess the situation in their respective states and then take a call on postponement of rallies and public functions.
A stampede-like situation occurred during a women's marathon 'Ladki hoon, Lad Sakti hoon' organised by the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly on Tuesday.
The marathon was organized ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls scheduled to take place early this year.
In the video, hundreds of girls were seen waiting for the marathon to start. As the marathon started, the participants standing in the first row fell to the ground and the participants from behind also lost their balance and fell over.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
