Jamaat members attempted to spread coronavirus in country: UP minister

Uttar Pradesh Power Minister Shrikant Sharma on Friday alleged that Tablighi Jamaat members tried to "hide themselves" in parts of the country in an "attempt" to spread the coronavirus disease.

He also condemned reports of the alleged sexual harassment of nurses by some members of the Jamaat at a hospital in Ghaziabad, terming the incident "disgraceful and condemnable".

"Though they knew that the world is in the grip of COVID-19, they not only attended the Jamaat function in New Delhi's Nizamuddin recently but also tried to hide themselves in different part of India," the minister claimed.

"It is an attempt to spread the disease all over the country," he alleged.

He said the Jamaat members were "guilty of spreading the disease" at a time when the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making every effort to contain it.

Commenting on the Ghaziabad incident, the minister said the state government will book the accused under the stringent National Security Act.

Action will be taken against the Jamaat members who have taken the law into their hands, he said.

The minister also condemned the alleged efforts to give a religious touch to the developments.

He said it was "shameful" that Jamaat members are mixing the issue of coronavirus with religion.