Covid-19: Congress cancels UP rallies, CM calls off today's event

The Congress on Wednesday cancelled its four marathon races listed this week and also decided not to hold any big rallies in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh amid rising cases of coronavirus.

Party sources said apart from Covid, the decision also took into account the recent stampede-like situation in Bareilly where the party-organised marathon, as part of its poll campaign, had left three girls injured.

Accordingly, the marathon race for girls scheduled at Azamgarh, Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Aligarh have been cancelled. Congress spokesman Lallan Kumar said on the instruction of general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, the party has cancelled its big poll rallies till the Covid-19 situation improves.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s rally in Noida scheduled for Thursday has also been cancelled, and no specific reason was given for the same. However, sources close to him said inclement weather can be the reason behind the move.

The Congress has asked all Pradesh Congress Committees in the poll-bound states to assess the situation and  take a call on postponement of rallies and public functions. A decision will soon be taken for states like Punjab, Goa,  Uttarakhand, and Manipur, a Congress leader told PTI.

Congress spokesman Ashok Singh told PTI the party has decided to go for small gatherings through ‘Nukkad Natak’ and door-to-door campaigns to reach out to the public ahead of the Assembly polls.