Bengaluru: Sadananda Gowda skips mandatory institutional quarantine, says he is exempted from rules

Institutional Quarantine, Bengaluru Airport Guidelines: Sadananda Gowda landed at the Bengaluru airport from Delhi today morning and straight away got into his car and drove to his residence. He skipped the institutional quarantine requirement.

Bengaluru Airport Quarantine: Union Minister Sadananda Gowda has defended himself after he was found flouting the rule that provides for seven-day mandatory institutional quarantine for passengers flying from high-risk states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The BJP MP landed at the Bengaluru airport from Delhi today morning and straight away got into his car and drove to his residence. He skipped the institutional quarantine requirement.

Under fire, when Gowda was asked about the institutional quarantine rules for the passengers announced by the Karnataka government, he said that the guidelines are applicable to all citizens, but there are certain exemption clauses for people who hold certain responsible posts.

Gowda said he is exempted from the rules set by the state and the central governments, adding that he was already using the government’s contract-tracing app Aarogya Setu on his phone and checked the status before boarding a Bengaluru-bound flight.

“I am a minister and I am heading Pharmaceutical Ministry. If the supply of medicines and other things isn’t proper then what doctors can do for patients, is it not the failure of the government? It is my responsibility to ensure the supply of medicines to each corner of the country,” Gowda said in his defence.

He also rubbished allegations by opposition parties that he didn’t go to required institutional quarantine after domestic air travel.

The domestic flight operations have resumed across the country from today after a gap of nearly two months. Gowda hails from Karnataka and is a Lok Sabha MP from Bangalore North constituency. He took a flight from Delhi to Bengaluru early in the morning. His assistant told reporters that the minister travelled after testing negative for coronavirus and he can be home quarantined.

The government has released a set of guidelines to be followed by passengers for traveling. The Karnataka government had on Sunday issued an SOP and had made seven-day quarantine mandatory for all domestic air passengers. The rules apply to passengers who arrive coming to the state from Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu or other areas hit by the virus. The guidelines do not specify if ministers or VIPs are exempted from the mandatory quarantine rules.