Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Monday, 6 April, claimed that the ‘Go Corona go’ slogan he coined has now become famous all over the world. The minister said that questions had been raised about the utility of such a slogan during a public health emergency, but that it was now being heard ‘across the world’.
“I gave the slogan in February, when the COVID-19 situation was not as bad in India. At that time people were saying, “Will this make corona go away?” Now we are seeing this slogan all across the world,” he said.
During the PM’s announced 9-minute show of solidarity with the fight against the coronavirus at 9pm on Sunday, 5 April, millions of Indians switched off their lights and lit candles, diyas or torches on their doorsteps and balconies. At this time, Athawale tweeted a video of himself chanting the infamous slogan at his residence in suburban Bandra along with his family members.
In February, a video of Athawale, Chinese Consul General in Mumbai Tang Guocai and Buddhist monks chanting "Go corona, go corona" at a prayer meeting went viral on social media. The video was reportedly shot at Gateway of India on 20 February during a prayer session to stop the spread of the coronavirus in China.
The novel coronavirus, which was first detected in China's Wuhan city in December 2019, has since spread to several countries, including India, and killed tens of thousands, shaving several billion dollars off the global economy.
The clip of Athawale urging coronavirus to take a "back step" amid the crisis was shared across social media platforms, leaving many netizens amused.
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