The West Bengal BJP has urged the State government to revoke the lockdown announced on August 5 as it coincides with the foundation stone laying event of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said if the dates of lockdown could be changed for four times then it could happen one more time. “I will appeal to the government to revoke the lockdown on August 5 today itself. The State can announce lockdown on any other day instead. The people are ready to obey the lockdown but the State government must respect the feelings of all,” Mr. Ghosh said.
The West Bengal government has been imposing complete lockdown restrictions across the State on certain days in a week to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The biweekly lockdown dates decided by the government in August have been changed on several occasions, including on Monday. The lockdown dates were changed so that they did not coincide with Eid al-Adha, Raksha Bandhan, Independence Day and Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. The State BJP leadership has decided to put out large posters and banners across Kolkata to mark the event. The Trinamool Congress said the BJP was unnecessarily trying to politicise the issue.
“We respect all religions but the lockdown is in the interest of people. This is not the time to indulge in politics,” Minister for Urban Development Firhad Hakim said. The Trinamool Congress said that for an event happening in Ayodhya there was no rationale to revoke the lockdown in West Bengal.
