On Thursday, the Tamil Nadu Health Secretary, Beela Rajesh, referred to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation held in the Nizamuddin Markaz of the national capital between March 13 to 15, as a "single source event".
She said that 84 people of the 96 tested positive of the novel coronavirus disease on Thursday are from a "single source" event and 763 cases out of the total 834 cases in the state of Tamil Nadu are from "single source" event.
Meanwhile, the term "single source" began trending on Twitter. JNU professor Anand Ranganathan wrote, "That's 92% of all cases. What or who is this "Single Source"? Don't Indians have a right to know? This is political correctness gone mental."
"Single source? It was the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin. Have the guts to say it out loud. Everyone with even an iota of common sense knows it," said a Twitter user.
"Tablighi Jamaat is new Lord Voldemort of Indian secularism. Everyone knows about this single source but it is not to be named," wrote another Twitter user.
Here are some of the Twitter reactions:
The Tablighi Jamaat event has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 in India with several positive cases linked to the gathering including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday said that the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra are a result of Delhi Police not stopping the Tablighi Jamaat's religious gathering in Markaz, Nizamuddin following which the attendees came back to the state and added to the case tally.
Deshmukh said that the Maharashtra government did not give permission for a similar religious gathering.
"A program like the one at Markaz in Delhi's Nizamuddin was scheduled to be held near Mumbai in Vasai on March 15-16 but was not allowed by us. Why did the Delhi Police not stop this program like us? Because of this, COVID-19 cases have increased," Deshmukh said at a press conference here.
(With ANI inputs)
