Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says reciting ‘Ramcharitmanas’ will work as a medicine against COVID-19

Defence Minister and Member of Parliament from Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency Rajnath Singh, who has not been seen or heard much since the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic hit the country, has said that reciting ‘Ramcharitmanas’ can help save people from the deadly virus.

Addressing an event organized on the occasion of Rama Navami in Lucknow, one of the worst affected cities in Uttar Pradesh, Singh said that the recitation of ‘Ramcharitmanas’ will ‘increase positivity’.

“It works as a medicine (against the deadly virus),” Singh said in his virtual address, adding, “Stress on religion and spirituality will work as a medicine in the fight against Coronavirus”.

The event was attended by folk singer Malini Awasthi, whose husband Awanish Awasthi works as an additional chief secretary in UP govt.

Echoing Singh, Malini, who is a known BJP supporter said, “Reciting ‘Ramcharitmanas’ will help in combating negative news and deviate our attention from COVID”.

Written by 16th-century bhakti era poet Goswami Tulsidas in Awadhi, ‘Ramcharitmanas’ is an epic poem depicting the life of mythological character Ram.

Reacting to Singh’s statement, Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam said that Rajnath Singh, whose responsibility is to defend the nation, has failed in defending his constituency.

Talking to National Herald over the phone, Krishnam said, “If Singh has any morality left in him, he should resign immediately and join the people of Lucknow in their grief.”

“It is the BJP’s habit to remember God or Ram whenever there is a crisis. By doing so, they absolve themselves from their responsibilities,” he added.

BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh recorded a single-day spike of 34,379 COVID-19 cases and 195 fatalities on April 22, pushing the total infection tally in the country’s most populous state to 9,76,765.

UP government’s records show that as many as 10,541 people have died due to the pandemic so far.

Surprisingly, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who himself tested positive for COVID, has claimed that there is no shortage of oxygen in the state even as people continue to die gasping for it.

As per an estimate, Lucknow on an average has been reporting 15 deaths every day for over a week due to COVID.