Did people recover by eating bhabhi ji ke papad?

New Delhi: The fight against coronavirus was not a political fight but a fight to save the lives of people, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said in parliament as he defended the Maharashtra government's efforts to contain the pandemic which has affected over 10 lakh people in the state. The state government had managed to control the spread of the pandemic in slum clusters like Dharavi, an effort which had drawn appreciation from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Raut said.

These recoveries didn't happen by eating "Bhabhi ji papad", the Sena leader sarcastically remarked, apparently referring to Union Minister and BJP leader Arjun Ram Meghwal's claim in July that the papad brand had the capacity to develop anti-bodies against coronavirus in the body. Meghwal had later tested positive for the virus.

The Shiv Sena MP said that though the confirmed cases from the state were the highest, it had managed to successfully cure majority of those infected with the deadly virus.

"My mother and my brother are infected with Covid. More than 30,000 people have recovered from COVID in Maharashtra. How did it happen? Today, the situation in Dharavi is under control. WHO has appreciated the efforts of BMC," Raut said in the Rajya Sabha.

Despite these effort, Raut said, the opposition was only concerned in criticising the state government. "I want to ask the members how did so many people recover? Kya log bhabhi ji ke papad kha karke theek ho gaye? (Did they recover by eating Bhabhiji's papad (snack)? This isn't a political fight but a fight to save the lives of people," he said referring to Meghawal.