CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury urged the Centre to set up a contingency fund to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Talking to reporters after a meeting of the party’s Polit Bureau, he said the Centre must assist all the States in putting up infrastructure to contain the outbreak.

He said the allocations for health must be “substantially increased” to ensure that proper health care system is put in place. He criticised the Centre for modifying an earlier order permitting the utilisation of State Disaster Response Fund for dealing with the coronavirus. He said the modification withdrew the provisions of compensation to families who have lost a member to the epidemic and for treatment of those infected. “This has to be reversed immediately,” he said.

“The Central government should draw up contingency plans to create a fund to help workers in the informal sector and organised sector who may lose jobs or get laid off due to shutdowns because of this epidemic,” a CPI(M) statement said.

The party called upon all its units and cadres to create awareness and scientific temper amongst the people to follow the required precautions to ensure the containment of this pandemic.

Peaceful protests

The party said unless the Citizenship Act Rules on NPR is amended, peaceful protests against CAA-NPR-NRC will continue.

“In view of the coronavirus pandemic, large gatherings and public meetings will be avoided. But the martyrdom day (of Bhagat Singh) will be observed as has been the practice all these years,” Yechury said.

Delhi communal violence

Yechury demanded a court-monitored independent investigation into the Delhi riots. “The perpetrators of this violence must be severely punished under law.

‘Probe police’s role’

There have been instances with video footage going viral on social media of how the police force aided and abetted the criminals who perpetrated such violent attacks. This must be thoroughly investigated by a time-bound judicial inquiry,” he said.

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