The Communist Get together of India (Marxist) has mentioned that the restrictions which might be imposed to comprise the unfold of COVID-19 are literally meant for suppressing folks’s agitations to press for his or her rights, whereas destroying their livelihoods.
Addressing a media convention on the get together workplace right here on Thursday, district secretary of the CPI(M) Ok. Neela mentioned that the Authorities is reserving instances in opposition to solely those that are agitating to press for his or her rights and leaving numerous political leaders and activists go scot-free for COVID-19 norms violations.
“Visitor lecturers who’ve been on the road protesting looking for job safety have been booked. CPI(M) leaders who protested in opposition to the anti-conversion Invoice have been booked. Nevertheless, BJP leaders have been spared regardless of them having violated COVID-19 customary working procedures. There are tons of of such examples the place the police have selectively booked instances and left ruling get together leaders go scot-free. Weekend curfew has turned out to be an extra revenue-generating means for personnel within the Police Division who forcibly extract cash from widespread folks for minor violations akin to popping out throughout weekend curfew and roaming on the streets with out sporting face masks. The identical police personnel do nothing once they see violations by influential politicians. It clearly reveals that the COVID-19 restrictions have been imposed extra for curbing folks’s voices than containing the unfold of the virus,” Ms. Neela mentioned.
Strongly holding that restrictions akin to weekend curfew and lockdown will under no circumstances assist in the containment of COVID-19, Ms. Neela mentioned that the restrictions will push the toiling folks on the backside of society who’re residing from hand to mouth right into a disaster by depriving them of their livelihoods.
“There isn’t a scientific foundation to show that lockdown and curfew will assist in stopping the unfold of an infection. Even World Well being Organisation specialists have expressed the identical opinion.
“Our personal expertise final 12 months clearly confirmed that lockdown didn’t comprise the unfold of the virus. The pandemic continued to unfold by communities regardless of lockdown and different restrictions. However, lockdown did trigger irreparable injury to the lives of widespread folks by snatching their livelihoods and destroying the nation’s financial system. Regardless of having these clear and evident experiences, the Authorities is, on the onset of a potential third wave of the pandemic, imposing restrictions one after the opposite,” Ms. Neela mentioned and demanded that the Authorities introduce constructive and scientific measures akin to augmenting medical infrastructure and strengthening folks’s financial energy to face the pandemic as a substitute of imposing restrictions.
If the Authorities needs to impose lockdown and weekend curfew, she added, it ought to then pay ₹10,000 a month to all poor households, together with these which might be outdoors the ambit of earnings tax.
