All last week the Meghalaya government appeared to have a split personality when it came to Covid-19 protocols. While the eastern range saw warnings from the district administrations to the public to follow physical distancing and facemask wearing, Garo Hills looked like it had returned to pre-Covid times with huge election rallies being carried out with no standard operating procedures (SOPs) at all.
Today Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong of the National People’s Party (NPP) sought to excuse this by saying that it is impossible to place restrictions on a public meeting.
When asked today about the violation of Covid-19 protocols, Tynsong said that the election campaign schedule and programmes were fixed well before coronavirus infections started to increase in the state.
He added, “We cannot follow protocols because, during a public meeting, we cannot say how many people will come to a public meeting.”
Stating that it is not fair to criticize without seeing the reality of the situation, the Deputy CM said that it is the case not only in Meghalaya but the whole country that no one can restrict the people from attending a public meeting.
