To
Sri Vijay Bhai Rupani ji,
Hon’ble Chief Minister, Gujarat
Sub: Regarding not spreading religious intolerance and bringing a White paper on the Corona Pandemic in the state
Dear Sir,
In your video communication dated 24th April 2020 you informed us that in the month of March the state government of Gujarat quarantined 6000 people returning from outside India in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. You further asserted that the spread of Covid-19 in the state of Gujarat was caused by the Tablighis returning from Nizamuddin in Delhi. The aforementioned statements by you were widely publicized and given front page coverage by the daily newspaper Divya Bhaskar dated 25th April 2020 which was published from Ahmedabad.
Sir, with respect I need to point out that your aforementioned statements are without any basis in facts, are divisive in nature and tend to create enmity between two religious groups. In this regard the undisputed facts are that the earliest Covid-19 case was reported on 17.11.2019 in China and 20.01.2020 in USA. In our country the first of the Covid-19 cases was reported in the state of Kerala on 30.01.2020. In fact the first two Covid-19 cases in our state were reported on 19.03.2020 and they came from Surat and your home district – Rajkot. Your own video communication dated 20.03.2020 (available here: https://youtu.be/S_x-xMApR0U ) highlighted the existence of 5 covid-19 positive cases in Gujarat at that time, all relating to foreign returned residents of the state.
Sir, on January 30, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of International concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). Sir, there is a formal declaration of an extraordinary event by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the prior determination of what constitutes a public health risk to other states through the International spread of the disease.
Sir, it is apparent that the state government, in utter disregard of the health emergency declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), lost a crucial month in not preparing for an imminent pandemic, even as it splurged all available state resources in organizing Namaste Trump event on 24th February 2020 in Ahmedabad.
It is shocking to notice that the state government endangered everyone’s life by organizing Namaste Trump event and congregating over 1 lakh people despite knowing that USA had already reporting existence of Covid-19 cases as far back as 20th January 2020. The most important question that needs to be answered is whether the state government has tested the participants of this event for Covid-19? It is well known that in relation to the Namaste Trump event a contingent of American officials, security personnel, vehicles and dogs had travelled all over the city of Ahmedabad.
Sir, the government should have been informing the public of its preparedness to deal with Covid-19 pandemic instead of spreading lies in the name of Tablighis. Sir, those sitting in power should be seen behaving responsibly and be able to look beyond the narrow politics. Sir, the people are waiting to be explained by you why the largest number of Covid-19 cases is coming from the city where Namaste Trump event was organized? The government must not play religious cards to cover up its abject failure in the face of the pandemic. In the end it is the people of Ahmedabad and Gujarat who are made to suffer due to the negligence of the government. Sir, the entire state appears to be caught up in the utter chaos caused by lockdown announced without any preparation that left people stranded and wanting for essential items, with many undertaking long arduous journeys on foot to their homes in order to escape sheer hunger, aggravated by total confusion caused by daily changing rules and notifications. Under these circumstances it sad to notice the government announcement to create separate hospital wards for patients on the basis of their religious identity being either Hindu or Muslim.
Sir, it is highly unfortunate that despite holding a Constitutional position as the Chief Minister of the state, you have maliciously attempted to target a particular religious group in clear violation of Article 51 of the Constitution.
Sir, the state expects you to strengthen the constitution and the social fabric of this country and not to behave as the leader of a right-wing separatist organization that disintegrates our society and weakens the nation.
Sir, I request you to make public the names of all people, including those holding diplomatic exemptions, who have entered Gujarat from abroad between 30th January 2020 till the day the last of the international flights flew in the state.
Further, I request you in public interest to issue a white paper on steps taken by the state government in preparation of the pandemic. I am sure this will make it clear to the people of the state who actually brought the deadly Corona virus in the city of Ahmedabad.
I feel confident that keeping in mind your pledge to protect the Constitution, you shall take such steps that shall strengthen the social fabric of the state and encourage us to fight and defeat this together.
Sincerely
Mujahid Nafees, convenor
Minority Coordination Committee. Ahmedabad.
