Panaji (Goa) [India], April 1 : Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that the Tablighi Jamaat has put the country in trouble by allowing a gathering at its headquarters in Delhi.
"The Tablighi Jamaat has damaged the country, according to the media reports which I have seen. They have put the country in trouble by the manner in which they allowed COVID-19 to spread," Sawant told reporters.
He said that the state government does not have any information about people who attended the gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin in the national capital and subsequently returned to Goa.
Calling for severe punishment for members of the Jamaat, Sawant also said that people in Goa have to be careful about people who belong to the Tablighi Jamaat.
The Tablighi Jamaat event has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases across India were linked to the gathering, including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.
The total number of novel coronavirus cases in India climbed to 1637 on Tuesday. The death toll due to the COVID-19 rose to 38 while 133 patients were cured or discharged after treatment, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated.
( With inputs from ANI )