THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On the eve of his day-long hunger strike in front of the Secretariat over the Kerala government's 'inhumane' attitude towards Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs), Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is creating a divide among the public.
The Opposition leader said the state government is showing double standards on the repatriation of Malayalis coming from abroad and those coming from other states in trains and domestic flights. He maintained that people coming in trains and domestic flights do not have to provide COVID-19 negative certificates whereas NRKs from abroad have to mandatorily provide it.
“The Chief Minister is creating divisions among the people. Where will the NRKs go? It is the state government’s responsibility to initiate repatriation of Malayalis abroad and if they have COVID-19, they have to be cured. The state government can’t allow them to die there,” said Chennithala who is scheduled to hold a hunger strike on Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.
He also said the CM’s stand on NRKs undergoing rapid tests for COVID-19 is a farce as most Gulf countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman do not have that facility and asked whether he is already aware of this or feigning ignorance.
Chennithala congratulated welfare organisations abroad who have been doing yeoman service by arranging chartered flights when the state and central governments have been in denial mode over the repatriation of Malayalis stranded there. He said that if the BJP government at the Centre too made COVID-19 negative certificates mandatory, then NRKs will never be able to return to their homeland.