Congress Called Off The Mekedatu Padayatra In Karnataka Due To Steep Rise In Covid Cases
The Congress called off its Mekedatu foot march on Thursday, which seemed like the only viable option in the face of a fast-spreading coronavirus running amok in the third wave. Credit: DH Photo
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In the midst of a rapid increase in coronavirus causing havoc in the third wave, the Congress called off their Mekedatu foot march on Thursday.
Siddaramaiah, Leader of the Opposition who was joined by Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, the campaign's anchor, during a press conference announced about halting their 'padayatra' temporarily. He explained that they took the decision for the sake of public health not due to the cases filed against them or the for the BJP government's order. They don't wanted to get blamed for the increase in cases or exacerbating the situation. They will resume from Ramanagara and complete the march once the third wave will be passed and the Covid-19 guidelines have been relaxed.
He further added that despite taking all safeguards, there was concern among them that things would get out of hand.
The march, which lasted barely four days but became a political flashpoint, has come to an end. The 11-day march, which began on Sunday in Sangama and ended in Ramanagara, covered a distance of 60 kilometres. The Congress will have marched 154 kilometres by the time it arrived at the National College grounds in Bengaluru on January 19, reported The Deccan Herald.
The High Court slammed the Basavaraj Bommai administration and the Congress for the Mekedatu march on Wednesday, prompting the government to issue a ban on the padayatra invoking Covid-19. The senior Congress officials reached at the decision for calling off the March. As per sources, the party's high command officials requested Shivakumar to make a group decision on the march's plight, taking into account what the High Court would declare.
Siddaramaiah criticized the BJP government for faking their concern for the citizens health as their own leaders broke Covid-19 rules. He mentioned that that cases are witnessing rapid increasing and there's a third wave because of the BJP. He further added that the CM, Subhash Guttedar, MP Renukacharya, and others flouted standards when the third wave began, but not a single complaint was filed, adding that the BJP's main goal was to derail the padayatra.