New Delhi/IBNS: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday wrote to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to either "follow Covid-19 protocols" or "postpone Bharat Jodo Yatra", triggering a flashpoint between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and main opposition Congress.

"Ensure follow of Covid protocols, usage of masks and sanitizers, participation of vaccinated people in the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan," Mandaviya wrote to Gandhi.

"If the following of Covid protocols are not feasible, then requesting to postpone Bharat Jodo Yatra keeping in mind the Public Health Emergency and to save the country from the pandemic," the minister wrote.

Reacting to the directive, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said Mandaviya has been deputed by the incumbent to divert people's attention, The Times of India reported.

Gandhi's nationwide rally, dubbed as Bharat Jodo Yatra, began in Kanyakumari in September.

The rally will enter the national capital Delhi on Monday.

Meanwhile, the health ministry with Mandaviya in chair will hold a review meeting on Wednesday in the wake of the rising Covid-19 cases in China, Japan and the United States.