<p><strong>New Delhi:&nbsp;</strong>Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has announced that he is suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal because of the current Coronavirus situation in the country.</p> <p>This comes as concerns have been raised on mass gathering at political rallies in poll-bound West Bengal which is undergoing&nbsp;extensive election period with 8 long phases.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ |<span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/2Q5AgXg"> Kumbh Returnees Arriving In Delhi, Be Careful To Provide These Details Or End Up In 14-Day Institutional Quarantine</a></span><br /><br /></strong>"In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal.&nbsp;I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances," Rahul Gandhi wrote in a tweet.</p> <p>[tw]https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1383660290458275840[/tw]</p> <p>On Saturday, PM Narendra Modi's statement about the size of the crowd at his rally in Asansol irked a section of people including opposition leaders.</p> <p>PM Modi spoke how not even one-fourth of the crowd size he was seeing there had attended his previous rallies several years back when he came to campaign in the region.&nbsp;</p> <p>"But today, I am seeing such a gathering/<em>sabha</em> for the first time," he said. "Today you have shown such strength, wherever I look I only see people and nothing else," he added.</p> <p>The Prime Minister then goes on to ask people to vote. However, as the statement was reported, it was criticised by opposition leaders and a section of people raising questions over how it appears to appreciate mass gathering at a time when the country is battling a second wave of Coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>Through a tweet, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked PM Modi to "end this hypocrisy".</p> <p>[tw]https://twitter.com/priyankagandhi/status/1383430138365284354[/tw]</p> <p>Rahul Gandhi also jibed at the Prime Minister's statement writing: "Seeing such a crowd of the ill and deceased for the first time".</p> <p>Meanwhile, as the political rallies attracting mass crowds continue with election phases going on as per schedule, India has once again recorded a single-day rise of Covid 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities pushing the total case tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll to 1,75,649.</p> <p>PM Modi meanwhile said that all necessary measures must be taken to ramp up the availability of hospital beds for Covid patients as he chaired a review meeting to take stock of the Covid situation across the country on Saturday. The additional supply of beds through temporary hospitals and isolation centers should be ensured, he directed.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

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