The minister said questions were raised earlier ifsuch a slogan would help but its widespread use has proved theefficacy of the slogan.
"I gave the slogan in February, when the COVID-19situation was not as bad in India. At that time people weresaying, will this make corona go away? Now we are seeing thisslogan all across the world," he said.
When millions of Indians switched off the lights attheir homes and lit candles, diyas or turned on mobile phonetorches for nine minutes starting 9 pm on Sunday, in responseto Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to show the nation's"collective resolve and solidarity" in its fight againstcoronavirus, Athawale was seen chanting the slogan at hisresidence in suburban Bandra along with his family members.
In February, a video of Athawale, Chinese ConsulGeneral in Mumbai Tang Guocai and Buddhist monks chanting "Gocorona, go corona" at a prayer meeting went viral on socialmedia.
The video was reportedly shot at Gateway of India onFebruary 20 during a prayer session to stop the spread of thecoronavirus in China.
The novel coronavirus, which was first detected inChina''s Wuhan city in December, has since spread to severalcountries, including India, and killed thousands and shavedoff several billion dollars from the world economy.
The clip urging coronavirus to take a "back step" amidcrises was shared across social media platforms, leavingnetizens amused. ND VTVT VT