THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: By crowding, protesters are risking the lives of themselves, their families and police, says member of task force. However, political parties say they can’t sit idle when govt is mired in controversies
Even as stringent social distancing norms are being enforced on religious and social gatherings including weddings and funerals, Covid-19 protocol is being violated blatantly by party cadre irrespective of political affiliations. Far from setting an example to the public on the adherence of guidelines, political parties, it seems, are unmindful of the dangers of holding public protests in the midst of a pandemic. The High Court’s direction to all political parties to strictly abide by the Covid-19 protocol set by the state government seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
Party workers continue to hold violent protests and marches across the state putting not only themselves at risk but also the public and police. In the past 15 days, the capital city has witnessed as many as 21 protests. On Wednesday, three protests were organised in front of the Secretariat and were attended by hundreds of people. As the state inches towards the Covid-19 peak, which is expected to hit by the first week of October, recent developments have come as a nightmare to health authorities. In a recent incident, BJP leader P K Krishnadas who took part in a protest tested Covid-19 positive. Parties have faced flak from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who has been critical of the ongoing protests.
Core member of the state’s Covid-19 task force Dr Mohammad Asheel said that any type of gathering should be conducted by strictly adhering to the Covid-19 norms. “There is a new normal for everything and the political parties should also find their new normal for holding protests. Kerala is handling the longest standing pandemic situation in the world and we have successfully delayed the peak. It’s been eight months since we started this fight. Unlock was unavoidable and we are in an ascending phase of cases right now,” said Dr Asheel.
As per the World Health Organisation guidelines, everyone must avoid the three Cs – closed spaces, crowded spaces and close contact – to protect themselves in the absence of a vaccine. “These norms are being violated during protests. Masks are being universally considered as a crude vaccine though the viral inoculum is lower,” said Dr Asheel.
But people tend to pull down their masks while talking. During protests, the occupational risk is also too much for the police. They are coming in close contact with the protestors in an aggressive manner. When this happens, the spike in aerosol generation also puts more people at risk. Everyone should understand that by breaking the safely bubble, they are putting not only themselves at risk but also their family and the elderly,” Dr Asheel added.
CHEW ON THIS
In the past 15 days, the capital city has witnessed as many as 21 protests. On Wednesday, three protests were organised in front of the Secretariat and were attended by hundreds of people. In a recent incident, BJP leader P K Krishnadas who took part in a protest tested Covid-19 positive. Parties have faced flak from the CM who has been critical of the ongoing protests
What the political parties have to say
Anavoor Nagappan, district secretary, CPM
Covid-19 is spreading like wildfire. In Kerala, though the mortality rate is low, cases are spiralling with each passing day. Political parties should realise that there is no medicine for this pandemic. Opposition parties with the consent of their top leaders are trying to sabotage the initial progress made by our state in effectively handling the Covid-19 situation. Leaders are blatantly violating social distancing norms. They are betraying their own people. Every party has the right to protest but protocols should be strictly followed. We have held several protests and we involve only five people at a time. Furthermore, putting the police at risk is also a violation of human rights. They too are human and have families to protect.
K S Sabarinadhan, Youth Congress Vice-President
There is a strong negative sentiment among the public against the ruling party. People want youngsters to express it for them. We have been holding peaceful protests for nearly six months but now the issues involving the government have come to a head and, unfortunately, the situation demands this. We know the pandemic is going to hit the peak. Hence, we are trying to follow the protocols by not holding too many decentralised protests. In my constituency, the Covid-19 protocols are strictly enforced.
V V Rajesh, district president, BJP
We didn’t hold any protest for four months after the pandemic outbreak. However, the recent political turn of events in Kerala has prompted us to take to the streets. We cannot sit and watch the government commit heinous crimes. The people want us to protest. But we always make sure social distancing guidelines are followed. The protests are planned with a minimum number of cadre but people come uninvited and join the protest because they want to express their concern. Also, the ruling party has held many protest marches involving thousands. Minister A K Balan led the protest march at Venjaramoodu with over 1,500 party members.