Hours after suspending 'Jan Aakrosh Yatra' in Rajasthan over Covid fears, BJP takes U-turn, says THIS

Jaipur: Hours after announcing the cancellation of its ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ in wake of the global Covid surge and detection of a new Omicron strain in the country, the BJP`s Rajasthan unit has now taken a U-turn and said that the proposed yatra will continue unless an advisory is issued by the Centre and the state.

Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia said while the yatra will continue, necessary Covid precautions will be followed. "Unless any advisory is issued by the Centre and the State, public protest meetings of @BJP4Rajasthanwill are held as per the pre-determined schedule, but the usual precautions of #COVID must be followed," Poonia said in a tweet.

Just hours before, the Rajasthan BJP chief had tweeted to say that the yatra was cancelled, until further notice, in view of the global Covid situation. "Our `Jan Aakrosh Yatra` against the misrule of the Congress, Jungle Raj, and corruption in Rajasthan was receiving immense public support. However, keeping in view the general precautions and instructions because of Covid, it has been postponed until further notice, in the public interest," he said.

Speaking to ANI, the Rajasthan BJP chief sought to dispel any confusion around the programme saying the yatra has already ended but public meetings will continue following Covid norms. "There was some confusion regarding the yatra. 

The Jan Aakrosh Yatra ended on December 14. But the Jan Aakrosh Sabhas will continue until an advisory is issued by the Centre or the state government," he said. After the BJP`s announcement of the cancellation of the yatra earlier in the day, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Govind Singh Dotasra took a jibe at the saffron party.

"The yatra was failing from the first day and chairs were empty. Now, BJP is cancelling it just for the sake of saving its reputation," he said.

The BJP`s yatra comes ahead of the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections next year. The polls will elect members for 200 seats in the state Legislative Assembly.

Meanwhile, in view of the global Covid surge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level virtual meeting to review the country`s preparedness to deal with any eventuality arising out of the pandemic.

The meeting was convened a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the coronavirus situation in a meeting with high-level officials. He urged people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated against the virus.

Emphasising that the pandemic is not over yet, he asked officials to step up surveillance. Sources said there are currently 10 different variants of Covid-19 in the country, with the latest being BF.7.