Ramesh Chennithala is protesting the attitude shown by central and state governments towards Malayalis living abroad who will need to test for coronavirus before taking flights to India.
Kerala’s Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala has begun a day-long hunger strike in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, protesting the ‘attitude of the central and state governments towards the nonresident Malayalis’, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is against the Kerala government’s demand to make COVID-19 tests compulsory before taking flights from abroad to come to India. The protest from 9 in the morning, was inaugurated by the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Mullappally Ramachandran. Prominent leaders of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) like Oommen Chandy, Benny Behanan, MK Muneer and others have come to the protest venue. “The expatriates suffer a lot of difficulties and now the government is calling them carriers of COVID-19. Not just the Vande Bharat mission flights of the central government, but the chartered flights also need the expatriates to carry certificates proving they have tested negative. The expatriates I spoke to say that embassies won’t make arrangements to help. The Department of Non Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) has not been much helpful. Loka Kerala Sabha (platform for cultural, socio-political and economic integration of nonresident Keralites) has not been helpful,” Ramesh Chennithala told Asianet News. On Thursday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Kerala government is considering giving TrueNat rapid test kits for people in Gulf countries, which do not have testing facilities. It was a day earlier that he said that all people travelling to Kerala from abroad must carry certificates of having tested for coronavirus. He said that the state's stand, made clear to the centre, is that people who test positive and negative for the coronavirus could not be brought together in the same flight. However, he added that all passengers who test positive will be welcome in the state, but that they should be brought in a separate flight. CM Pinarayi said that it is the state's responsibility to maintain the state’s status as a most secure place and no Malayali would be kept apart because they have COVID-19. “Every Malayali across the world is welcome. This is a time of great disaster. We shouldn’t play politics with people’s health. There have been a lot of criticism in several stages. At first that we are not considering expatriates, later that they are not getting quality facilities. These are not just spreading of false news, but it is also creating insecurity and fear among people,” he said. However, the state's decision has caused much discomfort for expats, many of whom cannot afford a test. There are also many complications regarding when and how to get a test and whether air fares will get reimbursed if one is not allowed to board a flight. Also read: Kerala CM’s push for no-COVID certificate upsets expats returning home Watch:
Body 2:
No comments:
Post a Comment