According to news agency ANI, the mouthpiece for the Shiv Sena, Saamna said that the current crisis in the country caused by the spread of coronavirus disease could have been avoided if the Supreme Court had taken notice of political leaders’ public rallies and the Kumbh Mela in time.

It said, ÂThe SC has now taken cognizance of the Covid situation in the country. If the court had taken into consideration the roadshows done by many political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, and the Haridwar Kumbh Mela at the right time, such a situation would not have arisen.Â

Several politicians have been chastised for organizing massive rallies in the run-up to the upcoming assembly elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI) barred roadshows and vehicle rallies for the remaining phases of the West Bengal elections on Thursday, after hundreds of people were seen flouting Covid-19 norms at such rallies. The polling body stated that no public meeting of more than 500 people would be permitted.

PM Modi, Amit Shah, and West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee were among the top leaders to cancel rallies in the state after the order was issued.

On April 18, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi halted all of his rallies in West Bengal and urged other leaders to do the same. For the same, he tweeted, “In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal. I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances.Â

Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar for the Kumbh Mela to take a holy dip on the occasion of Shahi Snan. According to PTI, crowds in Haridwar thinned “drastically” after PM Modi appealed to Swami Avdheshanand Giri last week to transform the Kumbh Mela into a “symbolic” event in light of the rapidly spreading virus and main “akhadas” of seers began withdrawing from the Maha Kumbh.

On Friday, India reported 332,730 new cases of Covid-19. With this, the total number of infections has risen to 16,263,695. The death toll still stands at 186920, with 2263 new deaths.