Karnataka BJP leader throws birthday bash amid lockdown

BJP legislator A.S. Jayaram from Karnataka celebrated his 51st birthday at Karnataka Tumakuru district defying lockdown orders that prevents mass gatherings.

Gubbi police inspector P.M. Nagaraj said that the BJP legislator said that the birthday was organised in a house compound at Ankalakuppe village in Gubbi taluk.

"As Jayaram's birthday coincided with the Hanuman Jayanthi function in the area, food was served to the people who gathered at the Anjaneya Swamy temple in the adjacent Manikuppe village," Nagaraj told media.

Social distancing was not observed when lemon rice was served, "as the village folk scrambled to grab the food packets," admitted Nagaraj.

The legislator was not available for comments.

But just a few days ago, locals defied lockdown to attend funeral of militant killed in Sopore encounter in North Kashmir. Sopore police have lodged FIR against unknown persons who attended the funeral of JeM militant Sajad Nawab Dar.

Sajad Nawab Dar’s family had given in writing that on receiving that body they would stick to social distancing, but that was clearly not the case.

Some 400 people attended the funeral despite government asking people to stay indoors as number of coronavirus cases are rising the region.

India is on a 21 day nationwide total shutdown that ends on April 14. The unusual move was taken to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

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