“Imposing curfew in the night and calling lakhs of people in rallies during the day — this is beyond the comprehension of the common man,” he tweeted. “Given UP’s limited healthcare systems, we have to honestly decide whether our priority is to stop the spread of the dreaded Omicron or show electoral power,” he said.

Over the last couple of months, Varun had come out in support of the farmers’ agitation against the farm laws and also criticised the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Explaining his tweet, Gandhi told media: “Maximum transmission typically happens during the day as there are less people on the road during the night. It is a must to push for strongly cutting down social gatherings which could emerge as Covid-19 clusters.”

He cited the Centre’s message to the Maharashtra government last year, saying measures such as night curfews, weekend lockdowns have very limited impact on containing or suppressing transmission.

(With inputs from agencies)