Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who was part of the party's Mekedatu padayatra fell ill and had to pull out from the event.
The Congress party has triggered a massive health scare in Karnataka after former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who was part of the party's Mekedatu padayatra -- started by DK Shivakumar from his assembly segment Kanakapura -- fell ill and had to pull out from the event. Siddaramaiah developed a sudden fever after walking a few miles. Doctors have advised him to rest.
Siddaramaiah attended and addressed the gathering earlier in the day during which he lashed at the BJP government for not exerting pressure on the central government to take the drinking water project further. He said 25 BJP MPs have let down the state. He also dared the government to arrest them as they would be taking up 11-day padayatra.
The padayatra was taken out at a time when Karnataka is witnessing a massive surge in the number of Coronavirus cases, the majority of which are being reported from Bengaluru, and a weekend curfew was in place across the state.
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The padayatra saw the Congress party rallying thousands of supporters, many of whom were brazenly violating Covid-protocols. DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah had stated that wearing a mask was a must to take part in padayatra and to keep everyone safe. However, norms like wearing masks and maintaining distance were completely forgotten at the event. Moreover, even Shivakumar was seen walking amid the crowd without a mask.
The leaders held cultural events and invited religious heads from different communities before the padayatra. Former Union minister and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that the project was proposed during Siddaramaiah's term and that a detailed project was also proposed then but the BJP government has not taken any initiative in taking the project further. He said, if the project is realized, the drinking water issue in Bengaluru and surrounding villages will be solved.
Meanwhile, Karnataka reported 12000 new cases till 5 pm on Sunday. Bengaluru alone contributed 9020 cases. Health experts say that many are ignoring symptoms like fever, cold, cough and running nose and blaming it on weather instead. Now, how much of an adverse impact the Congress padyatra would have remains to be seen in the days to come.
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