Not a disease but punishment by God: Samajwadi Party MP on COVID-19

Lucknow, July 22: Two days after a video of Shafiqur Rahman, the Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh surfaced on the Internet in which he was seen saying that "coronavirus is not a disease but a punishment by God for our sins", Rahman on Tuesday reiterated that the "best way to come out of the coronavirus crisis is to seek forgiveness from Almighty".

A video has surfaced on July 19 in which Rahman has said that on the occasion of Bakr Eid, markets should be opened so that people can buy animals from there. Mosques and Eidgahs should be opened for people to offer prayers to end coronavirus.

"No cure of coronavirus has been found so far, which means coronavirus is not a disease but punishment by God for our sins. The best cure of corona is that we all pray to the Almighty," he had said in the video. While speaking to ANI, Rahman reiterated that coronavirus is not a disease but a punishment by God for our sins.

"If the administration allows us to offer prayers in the mosque, we will ensure that everyone follows social distancing norms and wears a mask while praying. If they do not allow, we will offer a prayer from our homes. There is a need for cooperation among people. We have put a proposal to allow us to offer prayer in a mosque. We will follow whatever policy, the government will announce," he said.

"It is not a disease. The best way to come out from this crisis is to seek forgiveness from God, if God forgives us we will be free from coronavirus," he added.

Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday reported 2,151 new COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the active cases to 20,204 and number of deaths to 1,229, said the State Health Department.