Agencies

In a complete mockery of the prohibitive orders currently in force due to Covid-19 lockdown, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers on Sunday organised a large gathering to celebrate the appointment of district head in Gwalior.

The said gathering, which saw the presence of over 100 persons, was organised at Bilaua town and attended by newly-appointed district head (rural) Kaushal Sharma, former MLA and the ex-minister Imarti Devi, among others.

The event included a party meeting and a rally taken out to celebrate Sharma’s appointment.

The Congress was left fuming and raised a complaint with the district collector after the video of the gathering went viral on Sunday evening. The collector has ordered a probe into the incident.

Party spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta alleged that his leaders were booked by the state government for lockdown violation without any valid reason, while the BJP leaders were regularly flouting social distancing norms with impunity. “Do we have different rules for Congress workers, commoners and for those in the BJP?” asked Gupta, naming leaders such as Ramesh Mendola and Hardeep Singh Dang who flouted lockdown norms but faced no action.

Gwalior BJP MP Vivek Shejwalkar though flayed the party meeting organised lockdown, saying he would “speak to the party workers on the matter”. The polls might be round the corner but following lockdown guidelines is mandatory for all, he added.

BJP spokesperson Ashish Agrawal also criticised the meeting and said the video clearly shows workers were not following social distancing rules. The party’s top leaders have instructed social distancing and lockdown norms and the party will definitely discuss this incident in an internal forum, he said.

Imarti Devi, is the former MLA of Dabra, the constituency where the said event took place. She is a staunch loyalist of BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia.