Chhattisgarh Minister Amarjeet Bhagat said none of the functions were for his birthday.
Ambikapur:
The BJP said Chhattisgarh Minister Amarjeet Bhagat violated standards of social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic by hosting birthday programs, an allegation the minister denied.
Bhagat said one of the events in Ambikapur city, Surguja district, in the state, was organized to congratulate the COVID-19 warriors on the front line, not to celebrate his birthday.
“At a time when people are asked to maintain a physical distance and not to go out unnecessarily to contain the spread of coronaviruses, (Amarjeet) Bhagat organized functions in the city of Ambikapur on his birthday when Huge crowds had gathered, “said BJP secretary of state unit Anurag Singh Deo. alleged.
Videos of functions held in two locations clearly show that social distancing was not followed and that people did not wear masks during these events, he said, demanding that an offense be registered against the Minister and the organizers of the program.
The minister refuted these allegations and said, “I attended several programs on Monday and coincidentally, it was also my birthday. However, none of these functions were organized for my birthday.”
Mr. Bhagat claimed that he had attended functions in all the development blocks of the Surguja district and in Ambikapur, he had attended an event organized to congratulate the COVID-19 warriors.
“We have distributed masks to all places. We cannot refuse anyone if they come to get masks. We have also given raincoats to 400 sanitation workers,” he said.
Volunteers who distributed food to the needy during the lockdown were also praised with shawls and certificates, he said.
