Nishikant Dubey refutes reports of being present at Lucknow party attended by COVID-19 positive singer

BJP leader Nishikant Dubey refuted claims of being present at the party thrown in Lucknow, which was attended by singer Kanika Kapoor who has tested positive for coronavirus.

"The party was thrown in Lucknow on March 13 and 14, I was not there. On March 13, 14 and 15 I was in my constituency, Godda, and Deoghar, taking part in government programs there," Dubey told ANI on Friday.

The Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand said that politicians who had attended the party had gone into self-isolation as a precautionary measure.

He praised the Janta curfew scheduled for March 22, Sunday, saying, "Nothing is better than following the Janta curfew. I have received many phone calls from people in my constituency who said they will support it by imposing self-curfew."

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry has confirmed that its officers who attended the Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on March 18 and came in close proximity with possibly COVID-19 infected MP Dushyant Singh, have gone into self-quarantine from Friday.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said on Friday that she and her son Dushyant Singh have gone into self-quarantine as a precautionary measure after attending a dinner party with Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor.

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh on Friday self-isolated himself as he too was present at the dinner party.

The Lucknow police have booked Kanika Kapoor on charges of negligence for attending various social events in the city last week despite being infected with coronavirus and having been instructed by the authorities to isolate herself at her home.

Kapoor has been booked under Sections 188, 269, and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sarojini Nagar police station in the city. The FIR was lodged based on a complaint filed by the chief medical officer (CMO) of Lucknow.

According to police, Kapoor had arrived in Lucknow on March 11 and was found COVID-19 positive at the airport. She had travelled to London a few days back.