THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has expressed anguish over the state government’s decision to make the Covid-19 negative certificate mandatory for overseas returnees arriving on chartered flights. Chandy wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday saying that the move is akin to pushing expatriates to death. He highlighted the plight of the jobless and penniless expatriates stuck in West Asia. He had written to the CM on the issue on Sunday too.
Recalling an incident where an expatriate, Sajeer Kodiyathoor, ended up in tears during the course of a television discussion while recollecting the plight of stranded Malayalis, Chandy maintained that Sajeer’s tears reveal the extent of the situation in the Gulf countries. He asked whether the CM can ignore such issues and insist on having the Covid-19 certificate when NRKs are relying on NGOs for chartered flights.