Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the government of staging the "Covid drama" in order to smear and disrupt Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is about to enter Delhi, and stated his party will follow any protocol based on scientific advice that is consistently enforced, news agency PTI reported on Friday.


The Rahul Gandhi-led Yatra arrived in Faridabad on the last day of its first phase through Haryana and will arrive in Delhi on Saturday morning. Along with a few athletes, DMK MP Kanimozhi joined the yatra.


At a press conference in Pakhal village here, Ramesh said, "This whole Covid drama over the last two days has been orchestrated to defame and derail the Bharat Jodo Yatra from coming to Delhi. That's the only objective," PTI quoted him as saying. 


He was asked if the government was picking on the yatra after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote to Gandhi requesting that the march be suspended if Covid protocols were not followed.


"Any protocol based on scientific and medical advice that is uniformly implemented will be followed by the Congress party. We have always followed it," he said, PTI reported. 


In a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "We were not the party which gave a solution that the Covid situation (after its outbreak in 2020) will be won in 18 days, like the Mahabharata war".


"There was one gentleman who said that we will win the Covid war in 18 days, and there was one a gentleman who advised Indians to deal with the pandemic by going to their balconies and banging 'thalis'. These were the remedies given for Covid if you recall," the senior Congress leader said. Ramesh said if there is a scientific or medical protocol, we will follow it voluntarily.


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"I wore the mask longer than the prime minister wore it yesterday," he said while claiming that the prime minister's mask was for TV.


According to Ramesh, the Union Health Minister's letter to Gandhi on following Covid protocols in the march was based on concerns made by three BJP MPs, not on expert or scientific advice. Gandhi also criticised the recommendation, claiming that the government is making "excuses" to end the yatra.


Earlier addressing a press conference here along with senior leaders AICC in-charge for Haryana affairs Shaktisinh Gohil, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and party leader Kanhaiya Kumar, Ramesh said, "If there is a directive to wear masks, we will wear masks, if there is a directive to maintain social distancing, that will be ensured".


Ramesh stated that he encouraged "Bharat Yatris this morning to wear masks" while on the yatra.


"I don't understand what the controversy is all about. There is no directive, there is no protocol..," he said.


Ramesh dismissed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi's reported claims that Congress leaders desire to take a break from the yatra to vacation abroad.


"I want to challenge Prahlad Joshi. If what he is saying comes true, I will publicly apologise and if what he claims turns false, he should do the same," he said, PTI reported. 


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On Parliament being adjourned sine die six days ahead of schedule, Ramesh stated the reality is that there was no business left for four more days and several opposition parties had underlined this issue "the government does not have any laws and agenda".


Kanhaiya Kumar further said that the BJP government has done all possible to discredit the yatra. Gohil described the march's path in Delhi, saying it will stop for the night in Faridabad and enter the city on Saturday morning from the Badarpur border near the Badarpur Metro station.


"The march will begin at 6 a.m. Saturday from the end of Haryana and will terminate after marching 5 kilometres into Delhi. At 10:30 a.m., we shall arrive at Ashram Chowk. The yatra will resume from 'Jairam Ashram,' which is located near Ashram Chowk. It would be relocated to Mathura Road, Zakir Hussain Marg, India Gate, Tilak Marg, ITO, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, Netaji Subhas Marg, and other locations," he stated.


After arriving at the Red Fort, Gandhi and others will drive to Rajghat, Shanti Sthal, and Veer Bhumi to give floral tributes. After a brief pause beginning Saturday night, the yatra will resume on January 3 in Delhi, go through Uttar Pradesh, then to Haryana, then to Punjab, and ultimately to Jammu and Kashmir.


According to Gohil, no specific authorization was obtained for the yatra in Delhi or any other state through which the foot march proceeded.


He stated that the party provides the route plan to the Central Reserve Police Force for security purposes.


"This is your observation, not a question," Ramesh observed of Gandhi wearing a T-shirt despite the winter temperature.


When the reporter again inquired if Gandhi did not feel cold, Ramesh answered in a lighter mood, "No, he doesn't feel cold, he is thick-skinned".


(With Inputs From PTI)