Congress blames ‘Namaste Trump’ event for COVID-19 spread in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Congress on Wednesday alleged that the 'Namaste Trump' event organised by the state BJP government in on February 24 here was responsible for the spread of Coronavirus in the state.

State Congress president Amit Chavda said his party wants an independent probe through a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into this, and will approach the Gujarat High Court soon against government's "criminal negligence".

However, the state BJP unit dismissed the allegation as baseless, saying the event was organised well before the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, and the first Coronavirus case in the state was reported nearly a month after the event. On February 24, US President Donald Trump along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in road show in Ahmedabad which was attended by thousands of people.

After the road show, the two leaders addressed a gathering of over one lakh people at Motera cricket stadium, run by Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA).

Gujarat reported its first Coronavirus cases on March 20, when samples of a man from Rajkot and a woman from Surat tested positive for the disease. Chavda in a video message said, "In January itself, WHO clearly said the Coronavirus spreads from one person to another. It had asked all the countries to refrain from organising large gatherings. Despite such warning, 'Namaste Trump' was planned for political gains and permission was also granted by the Gujarat government."

He alleged that the Coronavirus entered Gujarat and spread among people due to this mega event as thousands of foreigners came to Ahmedabad ahead of Trump's visit.