“People tweeting stuff with hashtags like Tablighi virus are more dangerous than any virus.”

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said Muslims should not be blamed for the spread of coronavirus in the country.

He was reacting to netizens’ response to reports that several people who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended a congregation of Tabligh-e-Jamaat, a Muslim religious organisation, at Nizamuddin in Delhi earlier this month.

“Now the #TablighiJamat will become a convenient excuse for some to vilify Muslims everywhere as if we created & spread #COVID around the world,” Mr. Abdullah said in a series of tweets.

“At first glance it would appear the #TablighiJamat were nothing if not irresponsible in the way they went about things but that’s not unique to them. The majority of Muslims in India have heeded government guidelines and advice the same as anyone else,” he added.