Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday attempted to shrug off the criticism that the government had turned its back on expatriates and was against their return in large numbers.
Mr. Vijayan’s counter-accusation that the Opposition was playing politics with the State’s containment strategy came soon after Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala announced a sit-in in front of the Secretariat on Friday in protest against the State’s decision to allow only Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKs) with COVID-19-free medical certificates to board flights bound for Kerala.
Mr. Chennithala had termed the order impractical and unkind. The government had denied clearance to inbound flights carrying Keralites at a perilous time when an increasing number of them were succumbing to the outbreak in the Gulf. Most seeking to return to the safety of their homeland had to scrounge for money to afford their airfare. Most countries did not test asymptomatic persons. Moreover, COVID-19 tests were expensive and result delayed inordinately. The government had now put an insurmountable hurdle on their path home by insisting on COVID-19 negative certification at the port of departure. Instead of insisting on COVID-19 negative certification, the government should test Keralites on arrival and treat infected persons, he demanded.
The Indian Union Muslim League and the Bharathiya Janata Party had also echoed similar sentiments.
‘Politicising’
Mr. Vijayan accused the Opposition of trying to entangle the issue in a web of misinformation. He said parties should not allow politics to hold the well-being of the people to ransom.
Without mentioning any name, Mr. Vijayan criticised a Union Minister of State from Kerala for attempting to sow seeds of insecurity and fear in the public. He had tried to lay down a smokescreen of lies and false statement to portray the government as against expatriate welfare.
The Chief Minister listed the “Minister’s flip-flops” on the issue of return of non-resident Keralites. He also accused the Opposition of having staged theatrical demonstrations at land borders to allow untested and unidentified persons into Kerala. If allowed, the move could have overturned the State’s containment strategy.