New Delhi: Union Minister D V Sadanand Gowda, who was at the centre of a controversy for not undergoing quarantine on arrival from Delhi by a flight in Bengaluru on Monday, defended him on Tuesday (May 26) issuing a statement on Facebook. Gowda clarified that he was wrongly painted to have not followed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of lockdown, and attached the copy of addendum issued by GOK on May 23.
The minister said that an attempt was made to make his official visit to Bengaluru a controversial one despite his being a Union Minister handling Pharmaceutical Dept, an essential wing fighting COVID19, adding "There are some misleading reports that I disobeyed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of Lockdown."
"I would like to clarify that I followed the SOP, which exempts Ministers, Officers on duty from being quarantined. I am attaching the copy of addendum issued by GOK on May 23, for your perusal. Being in government, we ministers, officers, doctors, healthcare workers, police, security personnel, sanitising workers, govt staff and public representatives have to be in the field helping people," he said.
The Union Minister said, "At any cost, essential services have to be continued. On many occasions, we face hazardous situations. But we have to carry out our duty," adding " There may be some shortcomings in this big war against Corona. But let us focus on a lot of positive things which are happening all around."
He noted, "For the first time, the world is facing such a dangerous virus and people are still learning how to grapple with it. In comparison with most of the developed countries, hope we all agree, India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has fared extremely well in containing the spread of disease. You all know, how the whole world applauded India's effort."
Talking about the availability of essential medicines and fertilizers, Gowda said, "I would like to state (as a Minister of concerned departments) there is enough stock in the country. Production has been brought back on track. Also, supply chains have been restored."
"In this COVID19 situation, we in responsible positions, have been undergoing COVID19 test regularly. Happy to share with you small information that the result of my latest Covid19 test, which was carried out yesterday, is negative," he added.
The minister also appealed to people to take precautions to avoid infections, wear face masks and follow social distancing norms, especially when going out.
Notably, the Union Minister was at the centre of a controversy on Monday after he did not undergo quarantine on arrival from Delhi by a flight in Bengaluru as stipulated, but defended it, saying he came under the exempted category being in-charge of pharmaceuticals, an essential sector.
The Karnataka government also came to his defence and stated that the Centre had issued orders exempting such people handling essential sectors from quarantine norms.
The Minister, also Bengaluru North MP, drove off in an official car without undergoing institutional quarantine as mandated by the Karnataka government for air travellers, triggering a controversy with several people taking to social media accusing him of violating norms while others saying rules are only meant for citizens and not for VVIPS, including ministers.
The Minister said he has not come in contact with anyone and there were only 11 passengers in the flight.
