A day after the Allahabad High Court put in an official request with the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider postponing the 2022 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand by 1-2 months in view of the resurgent Covid-19 outbreak, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the ECI must take a call on the conduct of the polls when it imposes the Model Code of Conduct.
“When the Election Commission of India puts the Model Code of Conduct, they have to decide when the elections will take place,” Thakur said.
The High Court also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately curb campaign rallies and public meetings of political parties in Uttar Pradesh.
“If rallies are not stopped, results will be worse than the second wave. Jaan hai toh Jahaan hai (if there is life, we have the world),” Justice Shekhar Yadav said.
The Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are expected to be held early next year.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today issued fresh Covid-19 restrictions, including a state-wide night curfew starting December 25 in view of a rise in Omicron cases in several states.
The Union Health Ministry had on Tuesday put all states and Union Territories on high alert about the new Covid-19 variant – Omicron – and said that based on current scientific evidence, Omicron is at least three times more transmissible than the Delta variant.
The central government added that greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making and strict and prompt containment action are required at the local and district level.
