Coronavirus: These tweets by celebrities during 'Janata Curfew' didn't go down well with netizens
A few of the celebrities also posted on social media on the ‘astrological significance’ of the cause and effect of the clapping, conches, and the loud noises from the steelware during the Janata Curfew amid coronavirus scare
On Sunday, answering the clarion call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indians observed a day of voluntary curfew, deemed as the ‘Janata Curfew,’ amid the COVID-19 scare.
At 5 pm, several Indians along with their families came out to their balconies and terraces for five minutes to celebrate and pay their gratitude to the healthcare workers, doctors, officials, among others who are involved in the fight to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
According to many health officials, India is currently in Stage 3 of the pandemic, meaning community spread is likely to take place in the coming weeks. With a population of 1.3 billion and a dearth of hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff and facilities, stopping the community spread in India will become a Herculean task.
In light of the current situation, the Centre, as well as state governments, have called for lockdown in about 80 districts across India. And the beginning of it was on March 22. On that day, not only the general public but also celebrities, including, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan came out to their terraces and balconies to say thank you to doctors and nurses serving tirelessly in hospitals across the country.
Post the Prime Minister’s televised speech, the ‘WhatsApp University’ jumped at the chance to decipher the ‘rationale’ behind the 5 pm’s prolonged din. Further, a few of the celebrities also posted on social media on the ‘astrological significance’ of the cause and effect of the clapping, conches, and the loud noises from the steelware.
Amitabh Bachchan
Earlier on Monday, Amitabh Bachchan posted a tweet talking about the astrological significance of the effect of Modi’s call.
In the now-deleted tweet, Bachchan wrote, “T 3479 – AN OPINION GIVEN: 5 pm, 22nd Mar, “amavasya,” darkest day of the month; virus, bacteria, evil force at max potential & power! Clapping, shankh vibrations reduce/destroy virus potency. Moon passing to new ‘nakshatra’ Revathi. Cumulative vibration betters blood circulation.”
The tweet made by Senior Bachchan was hailed as irresponsible by many and was eventually removed from the social media account.
Netflix-hit series Sacred Games’ writer Varun Grover described the tweet as ‘shameful,’ tweeted saying,
Rajinikanth
Image credits: www.creativecommons.com
A day ahead of the Janata Curfew, Superstar Rajinikanth (as he is popularly known), posted a video on Twitter saying that the viral infection was in the second stage in India, and urged citizens to stay inside to stop the country from moving to the third stage of community transmission.
Further, he said that to prevent community transmission, the virus needs to be completely curbed for 12-14 hours. However, many netizens called the post ‘fake news’ and criticised the fact as to how staying at home for 12-14 hours could prevent the pandemic from entering Stage 3 in India.
While the video has been taken down from the social media platform, it is still available on YouTube as part of a news video uploaded by a Tamil news channel.
Mohanlal
Malayalam actor Mohanlal also joined the bandwagon by asking citizens to stay home for the foreseeable future. In a telephonic interview with Manorama News channel, the actor said,
“Clapping together is a process. The sound produced is like a mantram (chant) and there is a possibility that many bacteria and viruses will be destroyed. Let it all get destroyed. I urge everybody to cooperate.”
One of the many false messages doing rounds in WhatsApp claimed, “22nd March is Amavasya, darkest day in a month. All viruses, bacteria, and evil forces have maximum potential and power on such days. 5 PM- clapping, shankh nada, etc. by 130 crore people at the same time will create so much vibrations that (the) virus will lose all potency.”
However, PIB Fact Check, a verified Twitter handle that checks government documents making rounds in social media platforms for its authenticity, has denied all such claims. In various tweets, the claims made were refuted.