Shivraj Chouhan tested positive after he had travelled to Lucknow (File)
The Madhya Pradesh government has banned political rallies, agitations and public meetings till August 14 to prevent the spread of coronavirus among politicians and their supporters. The move came after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his three ministers tested positive for the deadly virus.
Mr Chouhan, who has been recuperating at a hospital in Bhopal, presided a review meeting on the state's coronavirus situation and said any individual, be it the Chief Minister, minister, public representative or officer, will face action if the safety guidelines are not followed.
He also directed the ministers not to undertake any public tour till August 14 and not meet more than five people in their homes.
"This is my appeal to political parties - like BSP, SP, Congress, Left - that no one should conduct rallies, agitations or public meeting till August 14," the state's home minister Narottam Mishra said at a press briefing on Thursday.
All the political parties in Madhya Pradesh have been campaigning for the bypolls to 24 seats - likely to be held later this year - whose results can have major implications in the state politics.
Earlier this year, 22 Assembly seats had been rendered vacant after Jyotiraditya Scinidia exited the Congress along with 22 MLAs, paving the way for Mr Chouhan's fourth government in the state. The other seats have been vacant because of the death of sitting legislators.
Mr Chouhan tested positive after he had travelled to Lucknow to attend Governor Lalji Tandon's funeral. Minister Arvind Singh Bhadoria, BJP's state general secretary (organisation) Suhas Bhagat and state president VD Sharma, who had accompanied him, also tested positive.
On Wednesday, Water Resources minister Tulsi Silawat and the Minister for Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare, Ramkhelavan Patel also tested positive. They had also attended the Governor's funeral.
Mr Silawat, one of the 22 MLAs, had been holding public meetings in his constituency, Sanwer.
In Madhya Pradesh, which has seen over 830 deaths because of the virus, nine legislators including 7 BJP MLAs and two Congress MLAs have tested positive for the virus so far.