While the state of Kerala is contributing more than 60% of new Covid-19 cases in the country, Thiruvananthapuram MP and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor thought it was the perfect idea to hold a ‘roadside’ protest.
The protest with zero social distancing and Congress workers piling upon each other, reportedly took place in front of the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, a day after Kerala reported a single-day count of 31,445 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.
Inaugurated an @iyc protest in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram this morning against #Covid mismanagement in the state. Kerala is in the ICU — symbolised by a patient & a doctor (who happens to be an IYC member), while the Govt charges unaffordable fees to patients! pic.twitter.com/4cSC1oFwpa
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 26, 2021
Tharoor ‘inaugurated’ the protest opposing the state government’s handling of the Covid-19 situation. “At the @IYC protest, checking the health of the patient Kerala in the roadside ICU!” Tweeted Tharoor sharing a video where he was being a ‘doctor’ and checking on a ‘patient’ who lied on a stretcher.
At the @IYC protest, checking the health of the patient Kerala in the roadside ICU! pic.twitter.com/3T6j0yZ8pk
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 26, 2021
In the video, Tharoor can be seen playing the role of a doctor with a stethoscope, treating a fake patient lying on a stretcher. Scores of Congress workers and media can be seen around the ‘actors’ violating basic Covid-19 protocols.
Even before the social media could get over Tharoor’s coconut smashing meme, the Congress leader presented yet another opportunity to the netizens to break the internet with funny reactions.
Here’s how Twitterati reacted to Dr Tharoor’s antics
not missing the opportunity to use the ‘Mera Yasu’ meme, one user shared how the patient would react after getting treated by “Dr Tharoor”.
बोलने लगा pic.twitter.com/Pm7DLjDTp5
— Professor ngl राजा बाबू 🥳🌈 (@GaurangBhardwa1) August 26, 2021
Another user criticized the Congress MP questioning the necessity of all the drama when the state is already facing a pandemic situation. Many questioned the rationality of a politician falsely pretending to be a doctor.
But are you a doctor? And Kerala just saw a rise in cases. Is this social distancing? What is happening to all of you politicians?
— Swati K. (@mynameswatik) August 26, 2021
Many pointed out the complete absence of social distancing and how bad an idea was it to gather a crowd when the state is clocking more than 30,000 new Covid-19 cases. “Social distancing was not explained in the adult literacy classes,” Twitted a netizen.
Social distancing was not explained in the adult literacy classes
— Devi Prasad Rao 🇮🇳 (@DeviPrasadRao8) August 26, 2021
Another user mocked saying that Tharoor will treat the patient by just speaking in his trademark ‘Tharoorian’ English.
Shashi sir english bol ke hosh me la denge patient ko…😝😝
— The Unsung Sarcasm🇮🇳 (@Shivani_june) August 26, 2021
A sitting MP like Tharoor, who is ‘educated’ and is often seen mocking others for lack of knowlege, pretending to be a fake doctor in complete mockery of covid norms and common sense was highlighted by many social media users.
So this is the behaviour from an educated politician, how does country then expects uneducated politicians to understand the criticality of a situation like pandemic
— Jubin Shah (@jubs_shah) August 26, 2021
While several condemned the Congress leader for mocking science and common sense, some even compared him to the movie character Arjun Reddy. As per Covid-19 dashboard, the state of Kerala has more than 1,81,000 active Covid-19 cases as of today.
