The birthday celebrations of Rajya Sabha MP, who turned 63 on Wednesday, were held on a grand scale in Visakhapatnam amdid serious violation of physical distancing norm.
Videos of the celebrations held at YSRCP office in Vizag clearly show that the physical distancing protocol was not followed and people had not worn masks. Huge crowds had gathered at the YSRCP office to celebrate Vijaysai Reddy’s birthday, reportedly organised by YSRCP Tourism Minister Avanthi Srinivas.
The videos showed several MLAs and party activists who gathered at the YSRCP party office to celebrate their party leader’s birthday, throwing physical distancing caution to the winds. Avanthi Srinivas had on several occasions had appealed to the people to maintain physical distancing and not step out unnecessarily to contain coronavirus spread. Avanthi Srinivas, several MLAs and party activists were seen without a face mask. Physical distancing was, however, not observed, when the birthday cake was served, as hundreds of YSRCP supporters scrambled to grab the cake. A video of the crowd was seen jostling with one another to get a piece of the cake.
The large gathering comes at a time when Andhra Pradesh has been witnessing an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases. Since the second week of June, the state had been reporting three-digit growth in corona cases. In the last 24 hours, AP reported 657 new cases, taking the tally to 15,252.
Earlier, YSRCP leaders alleged that former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu had violated lockdown rules after he returned to Vijayawada from Hyderabad. The ruling party leaders alleged that Naidu had violated the lockdown norms as social distancing was not maintained and the people who greeted him were not even wearing masks. Some even had sought action against Naidu for violating Covid-19 lockdown rules and also Epidemic Diseases Act and Communicable Diseases, Prevention and Control Act, 1988.
Will the same YSRCP leaders now explain the violation of physical distancing norm by its own party leaders? Isn’t the sauce for goose also sauce for the gander?
