Bengaluru: Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who recently stirred up controversy for skipping quarantine after arriving from Delhi, has placed himself under home quarantine. The development comes after the Union Minister was pulled up by the Prime Minister’s Office for skipping quarantine.
In a conversation with ThePrint, DVS said that he received a call from the PMO asking him to quarantine himself in accordance with the guidelines. However, he denied any wrongdoing on his part and insisted that the whole episode was being blown out proportions.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “Pained at an attempt to make my official visit to Bengaluru a controversial one despite I being a Union Minister handling Pharmaceutical Dept, an essential wing fighting COVID19. I followed the SOP, which exempts Ministers, Officers on duty from quarantining.”
“Happy to share the information that I again underwent COVID19 test, which is found to be negative. Appealing the fellow citizens to take enough precautions to avoid infections. Please wear face mask & maintain social distancing.
Please help us to help you,” he added.
Pained at an attempt to make my official visit to Bengaluru a controversial one despite I being a Union Minister handling Pharmaceutical Dept, an essential wing fighting COVID19. I followed the SOP, which exempts Ministers, Officers on duty from quarantining. pic.twitter.com/oQ3WEdWRpE
— Sadananda Gowda (@DVSadanandGowda) May 26, 2020
It can be recalled that, on Tuesday, DVS arrived from Delhi to the Bengaluru Airport and moved straight to the Vikas Soudha to chair a meeting of the Karnataka COVID team, skipping the mandatory quarantine. His move sparked a controversy and DVS defended himself saying that he was exempt from quarantine as his job as the minister for pharmaceuticals was categorised as an “essential service”.
Hours after this move sparked controversy, the Government of Karnataka issued an order exempted Union and state ministers and officials from quarantine.
