Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary on Tuesday claimed that Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi has violated the COVID-19 lockdown guidelines by meeting general public and attending a large gathering of people.
In a letter to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Daimary, a two-time MP from Assam, said Mukhi, who is in his 70s, visited Kokrajhar on Tuesday and invited members of 29 political, social and religious organisations for interactions.
Daimary belongs to the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), a partner of the BJP-led government in Assam.
He said according to the lockdown guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, "..persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, shall stay at home, except for meeting essential requirements and for health purposes".
Quoting the guidelines, he said "The activities like all social/ political/ sports/entertainment/ academic/ cultural/ religious functions/ other gatherings are prohibited across the country irrespective of the zone".
The parliamentarian saidthe governor is above 65 years of age as per his available bio-data and according to the guidelines, people above 65 years is not allowed to move outside his or her home other than on medical grounds or meeting essential requirements.
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Daimary asked whether it was not the violation of the home ministry guidelines.
He also said it is also difficult to maintain social distancing by meeting members of 29 organisations.
"Therefore, I request you to kindly look into the matter and clarify to the government of Assam so that if something is going wrong, then it could be corrected and the guideline could be executed properly," he said.
Daimary's party - BPF - has been upset with Mukhi ever since he imposed governor's rule in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), an autonomous body for the Bodo dominated areas in Assam.
The governor's rule had to be imposed in the BTC on April 27 as the election to the BTC was postponed after imposition of the lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The BPF, which was in power in the BTC, opposed the imposition of the governor's rule, saying Mukhi could have allowed continuation of BPF in BTC as per the provisions of the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.
The BTC was created under the provisions of the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.