‘President has to help deal with socio-economic impact’

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has urged President Ramnath Kovind to intervene on critical issues such as the plight of migrant workers stranded due to the 21-day lockdown to fight the spread of Covid-19, inadequate funds to States, impact of the lockdown on economy, lack of transparency of PM Cares fund and the alleged communalisation of the pandemic.

He said symbolism cannot substitute urgent concrete measures that need to be undertaken by the government. “The Prime Minister’s announcement of a 21-day countrywide lockdown came with a mere four-hour notice. However, the single-day ‘Janata Curfew’ that he had called on March 22 had a two-day notice so that people could be prepared. This lockdown has been forced without any prior preparation, neither by the government nor by the people. The result has been a degree of chaos and anarchy which defeats the very objective of containing community transmission of this pandemic,” Yechury said.

He said arrangements could have been made through trains and buses for migrant workers, failing which temporary shelters should have been made prior to the announcement with adequate provision of rations and staying facilities. He alleged that the Prime Minister did not take the elected State governments into confidence before announcing the countrywide lockdown. “Many States were completely unprepared as a consequence. Now asking the State governments to take the responsibility for the migrant workers’ crisis is very unfair. The central government must generously support the States financially in these efforts,” he said.

He said the economic consequences of this lockdown have further exacerbated the recession that had set in before the outbreak of the pandemic. “The governments of many countries have undertaken to compensate the employers, some to the tune of 80 per cent of their wage bill. ‘Your government’ should likewise announce such a measure,” he said. He demanded a one-time waiver of loans taken by farmers. He said aggressive augmentation of PPE’s must undertaken immediately.

Attacking the “PM Cares” fund, he said it is administered by a trust of four — the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Defence Minister and the Finance Minister. “How the funds will be collected disbursed, what is its accountability — all these are unknown. There are disturbing reports of coercive collections, automatic deduction of a day’s salary from government employees and professionals, including health workers, without their concurrence,” he said.

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