Varun Gandhi's Latest Swipe At BJP: Curfew At Night, Calling Lakhs Of People For Rallies In The Day

BJP MP Varun Gandhi believes that policymakers should lead from the front in order to urge the general population to stay at home.

BJP MP Varun Gandhi. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi criticised the decision of several states, including Uttar Pradesh, to impose night curfew amid rising Omicron cases while not restricting massive public rallies.

Varun Gandhi, who has been needling his party on several issues in the past months, said it should be decided if "our priority is to contain the disease or to indulge in a show of strength during elections". 

"Imposing curfew in the night and calling lakhs of people in rallies during the day – this is beyond the comprehension of the common man," Varun Gandhi tweeted.

"Keeping in mind Uttar Pradesh's limited health infrastructure, it has to be decided honestly if our priority is to contain the dangerous Omicron variant of coronavirus or to indulge in a show of power during polls," he further said.

रात में कर्फ्यू लगाना और दिन में रैलियों में लाखों लोगों को बुलाना – यह सामान्य जनमानस की समझ से परे है।

उत्तर प्रदेश की सीमित स्वास्थ्य व्यवस्थाओं के मद्देनजर हमें इमानदारी से यह तय करना पड़ेगा कि हमारी प्राथमिकता भयावह ओमीक्रोन के प्रसार को रोकना है अथवा चुनावी शक्ति प्रदर्शन।

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) December 27, 2021

Varun Gandhi said that maximum transmission of Covid-19 happens mostly during the day as there are lesser people on the road during the night. The BJP MP urged everyone to refrain from attending social gatherings that could emerge as Covid-19 clusters.

Five states - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa - will hold Assembly elections in February-March next year.

He quoted a March 2021 memo from the Centre to the Maharashtra government that stated that measures like as night curfews and weekend lockdowns had very minimal impact on controlling or suppressing Covud-19 transmission.

He further said that there was a need for a holistic strategy.

His remarks come just days after Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, an Allahabad High Court judge, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "take strong steps" and consider "stopping and postponing" rallies, meetings, and elections, citing an increase in cases of the Omicron variant and a possible third wave.

Varun Gandhi On Farm Laws And Lakhimpur Kheri Violence

Previously, Gandhi has chastised the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre over the contentious farm laws that were eventually repealed. He had written to Adityanath, requesting aid for the distressed and struggling farmers.

Following the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, which resulted in the deaths of eight people, including four farmers, he wrote to the CM again, requesting that a murder case be filed against those involved in the incident. Union Minister Ajay Misra's son is accused in the case and has been arrested. Gandhi had urged Adityanath to conduct a CBI investigation into the incident.