Congress on Friday demanded that newly-appointed BJP president C R Paatil and other party leaders should be booked for allegedly not maintaining social distancing and violating prohibitory orders during their three-day-long tour of Saurashtra.
Gayatriba Vaghela, president of women’s wing of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, Vashram Sagathiya, leader of Opposition in Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) and Atul Rajani, Congress whip in the RMC, submitted a memorandum to Rajkot district collector Remya Mohan on Friday, demanding Paatil and others be booked for allegedly violating notifications and prohibitory orders issued in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Gujarat BJP president, during his three-day visit of Saurashtra beginning from Somnath and culminating in Rajkot, has not maintained social distance. It is duty of government officers to register cases against state BJP president CR Paatil at relevant police stations in these talukas and districts for violating social distancing norms,” the Congress leaders demanded in their joint memorandum submitted to the collector.
They further demanded that Paatil should be booked in case he organised events without permission or for gathering of more number of people than permitted in cases where prior permission was obtained.
The Congress leaders alluded to a case registered against them recently when they had attempted to inaugurate a river bridge on Chunaravad road in the city and where around 15 passersby had stopped to witness the event.
“Through this memorandum, we give intimation to collectors and commissioners to book all the district, taluka and city presidents of the BJP as well as party leaders, who had been assigned duty during this Somnath to Rajkot tour, under Epidemic (Diseases) Act,” the Congress leaders added.
However, addressing a press conference, Paatil said that he had neither organised any rally nor violated any law during his Saurashtra tour which had begun from Gir Somnath district on Wednesday, had passed through Junagadh district on Thursday and eventually culminated in Rajkot on Friday.