Uttarakhand minister hangs mask on foot; criticised after pic surfaces

Dehradun: Uttarakhand minister Swami Yatishwaranand was slammed by critics on Wednesday after a photograph, in which his face mask was seen hanging on the thumb of his foot, went viral.

The minister for sugarcane industries in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state was not wearing a mask on his face during the time and neither were the two other ministers, Bishan Singh Chuphal and Subodh Uniyal, nor the two other party leaders, who were all huddled in an indoor meeting. The date and the place of the meeting could not be confirmed immediately.

After making the rounds on the social media on Wednesday, the photograph was picked up by opposition leaders, who slammed the leader and also the state government for allegedly not taking Covid containment protocols seriously.

“The photograph showing cabinet minister Swami Yatishwaranand hanging his mask on foot just shows that he and his government put Covid-19 guidelines... under their feet,” said Qazi Nizamuddin, Congress MLA from Haridwar.

Congress state spokesperson Garima Dasauni asked: “When lakhs of people lost their lives to Covid-19 pandemic in the country, what sort of message Swami Yatishwaranand, who is a cabinet minister in Uttarakhand government, is delivering to the people by putting his mask on [his] foot?”

Dasauni said if people in responsible positions, such as the minister, are not following the guidelines then it was futile for the government to expect people to follow them.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is looking to make a mark in bipolar state politics, too condemned the minister.

“It just shows how much the BJP leaders care about the Covid-19 guidelines when many died in the second wave due to the inadequate arrangements made by their government at the Centre. Swami Yatishwaranand should apologise for his behaviour to the public for his despicable act,”AAP’s state spokesperson Amarjit Singh Rawat said.

The embarrassment follows state governments decision on Tuesday to cancel the Kanwar Yatra to destinations in the state to prevent the spread of the pandemic.