Uttar Pradesh: Congress cancels all UP rallies, Yogi Adityanath cancels Noida event as COVID-19 cases rise

With coronavirus cases seeing a sudden spurt in the country, the Congress on Wednesday decided to put on hold all its big public rallies and functions, including marathons, in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. Congress officials cited the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country and growing alarm that these events — which draw crowds of thousands — could emerge as super-spreaders events. This, as Yogi Adityanath with a group of top officials, on late Tuesday, decided to extend the night curfew timings in the state by two hours. Previously, the night curfew was from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am, now, it is from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. The decision was taken after the number of daily coronavirus infections crossed the 3,000-mark yesterday. Sources said senior party leaders at AICC talked to UP Pradesh Congress leaders and took the decision in view of public safety. A decision will also be taken by Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) in other poll-bound states like Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur soon, a Congress leader told PTI. The AICC has asked all PCCs in the poll-bound states to assess the situation in their respective states and then take a call on the postponement of rallies and public functions. The PCCs would soon take a call on this, the party sources said. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has cancelled a government function in Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Thursday after it reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, reports NDTV. This comes a day after a  stampede-like situation occurred during a women’s marathon organised by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly on 4 January. The marathon was organised under its poll campaign — ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’ — ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections. In a video that went viral, hundreds of girls can be seen waiting for the marathon to start. As the participants began the run, the girls in the front row fell to the ground and the participants from behind, who had to stop suddenly, also lost their balance and fell over. Many of the participants were seen without face masks despite rising cases of COVID-19. Social distancing norms were also flouted during the marathon. Congress leader Supriya Aron, who organised the women’s marathon said that there is nothing to worry and it’s a ‘very human thing’. “Thousands in crowds also went to Vaishno Devi. What about that? See, it’s a very human thing,” NDTV quoted Aron as saying. She then apologised and said, “These are schoolgirls and they only wanted to come out for a bit.” The Congress leader added, “But if anyone is offended for any reason, I want to apologise on behalf of the Congress.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.