Congress legislator and Rajasthan politician Bharat Singh Kundanpur has sparked a row by claiming in an outlandish letter to Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot that liquor can kill coronavirus in the throat. He wrote the letter to urge the CM to allow the operation of liquor shops in the State.

"When coronavirus can be removed by washing hands with alcohol, then drinking alcohol will surely remove virus from the throat," the MLA has been quoted as saying by ANI.

The silly claim comes close to this WhatsApp joke: "If a Rs 10 soap can wash away coronavirus, why is it taking billions of dollars to invent a vaccine?" Let's just hope that the MLA doesn't ask this question of Donald Trump or Narendra Modi in a future letter.

The MLA, it seems, has been inspired by a WhatsApp rumour that alcohol can stave off Covid-19. There is no truth in this!