NEW DELHI: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Tablighi Jamaat members aided in the spread of coronavirus infection in the state particularly in Indore and Bhopal, and chided them for not acting “responsibly”.
Chouhan told PTI in an interview, “Initially the members of Tablighi Jamaat contributed in spreading this virus. The people, who came back from this event to cities like Indore and Bhopal, transmitted this virus to others also.”
Further, they added to it by not cooperating with government personnel. They stayed hidden, let this spread to persons who directly or indirectly came in contact with them, he said.
A large congregation organised in March by the Tablighi Jamaat in the Nizamuddin area of the national capital significantly contributed to the increase of coronavirus cases in India. Some of the participants, who were later tested positive for coronavirus, had travelled to their home states and other areas.
Madhya Pradesh has so far reported 6,170 coronavirus cases, including 2,850 in its commercial city Indore, 1,153 in state capital Bhopal and 504 in the religious town of Ujjain, according to the official data updated as on Friday. Cases in these cities have been increasing steadily.
Of the total of 272 COVID-19 deaths, 109 people have died in Indore, 40 in Bhopal and 51 in Ujjain, the data said.
—PTI

Press Trust of India