Joginder Singh Ugrahan, the State General Secretary of BKU Ekta Ugrahan has tested positive for COVID-19.
BKU Ekta Ugrahan took to Twitter and said, “He is under treatment and under the continuous observation of doctors. There is no serious harm to his health and not any worrisome situation. According to the doctors he will recover shortly and we will see him again in the field of struggle”.
and not any worrisome situation. According to the doctors he will recover shortly and we will see him again in the field of struggle.
— BKU EKTA UGRAHAN (@Bkuektaugrahan) March 20, 2021
According to a report in Tribune India, Joginder Singh Ugrahan complained of breathlessness and was admitted to the hospital on the 17th of March. The doctors said Ugrahan has responded well to the treatment so far and his condition is quite stable now and likely to be discharged from the hospital in 3-4 days.
Shingara Singh Mann, president of BKU Ekta-Ugrahan, Bathinda, said, “Indeed it does affect your movement a bit especially in the absence of a leader of Joginder Ugrahan’s standing and stature but on the whole, it would not impact the agitation to a large degree. Ugrahan’s schedule was planned for Punjab and he had been attending meetings and holding rallies in the state since March 12 and was to return to Tikri after March 23. After illness, he had to admit but his condition has improved a lot and there is nothing to worry about now. He will be discharged and after taking rest for a few days, he will rejoin the agitation.”
As Joginder Singh Ugrahan tests positive for COVID-19, fears are being raised about the protest rallies becoming yet another superspreader of COVID-19. According to reports, he was attending kisan panchayats at various places and overseeing preparations for Bhagat Singh’ martyrdom on March 23 and the call for Bharat Bandh on March 26.
He has reportedly been away from the Tikri Border site for the past 1 week, however, one is not sure about his itinerary and where the 75-year-old was just before he tested positive for COVID-19.
Only 20 hours ago, BKU had claimed that news about the leader being COVID-19 positive was ‘fake news’
Interestingly, while BKU has confirmed now that Joginder Singh Ugrahan has tested positive for COVID-19, only 20 hours ago, the official handle of BKU Ekta Ugrahan had claimed that news about Joginder testing COVID-19 positive was ‘fake news’.
There is a fake news being circulated about Farmer Leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan that he has contracted COVID-19.
— BKU EKTA UGRAHAN (@Bkuektaugrahan) March 19, 2021
We want to confirm that all such claims are false and should be ignored.
Thank you pic.twitter.com/J75OrruuM2
A handle called ‘Kadak Samachar’ took to Twitter to claim that the leader had tested positive, however, he had taken admission in a hospital after concealing his identity, which is against the Epidemic Act.
This tweet was then quoted by the BKU Ekta Ugrahan handle to claim that the news was false and Joginder Singh Ugrahan had indeed not contracted COVID-19.
In fact, the handle ‘Kadak Samachar’ had also tweeted the COVID-19 positive report of the farmer leader. The report was dated 19th March 2021.
If the COVID-19 positive report was out yesterday itself, one is unaware why BKU lied about the test result yesterday itself.
With the COVID-19 positive cases rises in the country again and the farmer agitation against farm laws that actually benefit the farmers continuing unabated, concerns are being raised about whether the so-called farmers would prove to be another super-spreader since the so-called farmer leader was out and about till he tested positive for COVID-19 and met several people in preparation for further protests.
Concerns are also being raised about why BKU tried to conceal the fact that Joginder Singh Ugrahan had tested positive for Coronavirus. Till the time this report was published, BKU had not issued any clarification about their previous denial and whether Joginder Singh Ugrahan had taken admission into a hospital by giving a fake name and concealing his real identity.
