Slip-Up Amid Lockdown

The Tablighi Jamaat episode—which has contributed to the sudden surge in the number of Chinese virus-infected people in India—has embarrassed the government no end. Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi is worried that officials who were supposed to have kept track of the gathering and taken steps to disperse it baulked at the idea of cracking the whip against the organisers, for being branded sectarian or communal. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had to be drafted in, because of his personal connect with some of the Muslim community leaders, to break up the large congregation. The Delhi Police, intelligence agencies and the Delhi administration are seen to have failed in anticipating the fallout of such a large religious gathering at a time when the focus should have been on efforts to curb further spread of the Chinese virus. The government is likely to fix accountability in a couple of months and punish erring officials.