‘Coronavirus a wildfire, stay home for safety’, says Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal invoked the Mahabharata to underline the need to stay home to avoid catching by coronavirus that has infected lakhs across the world.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday invoked the Mahabharata to underline the need to stay home to avoid being infected by coronavirus.

He said it is vital that everyone follows the lockdown in the battle against the virus that has killed thousands across the globe and has affected close to 10 lakh people.

Referring to US President Donald Trump’s statement that coronavirus could kill up to 2.5 lakh Americans, Kejriwal said it underlined how dangerous the virus is and that safety lies in staying at home.

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“We must follow lockdown protocol to keep ourselves safe given how dangerous coronavirus is,” he said.

To drive home his point, Kejriwal narrated a tale from Mahabharata where Yudhishthir tells Vidur that neither the strongest nor the fastest would survive a forest fire and only those animals that live in burrows would see themselves through the fire.

“This coronavirus is like a forest fire. Those who will stay home will remain healthy,” Kejriwal said.

The Delhi chief minister had come under fire from the Centre late last month following an exodus of migrant workers who thronged the Anand Vihar area on the border with Uttar Pradesh to catch buses to take them home.