RANCHI: While addressing a virtual meeting of Opposition leaders convened by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Chief Minister Hemant Soren demanded Central Government to declare COVID-19 a national disaster and pay compensation to the nearest kin of victims who lost their lives due to the pandemic.
It is beyond my comprehension why the Central government has not declared such a big disaster as a national calamity so far, he added.
"The Central government should give compensation to the people, who have lost their lives during this pandemic. Those who have got treatment by selling property, ornaments etc to save lives of their near and dear ones are not left with anything for their living. Their future is really a matter of concern," said Soren.
"When entire country is going through a strange crisis, the Central government is tearing apart democracy in the country. Ignoring the words of the MPs in Parliament is fatal for democracy. The unity of the opposition needs to be made more powerful. There are many such issues inside the country and outside the
country, due to which the Central government can be surrounded firmly. The Opposition has no shortage of issues. BJP has taken many such decisions at national and international level, which are not in the interest of the country," Soren added.
The Chief Minister further said, "the central government has kept all the institutions of the country in its pocket. The incident that happened with the Chief Minister of West Bengal is highly condemnable. We all need to stand firmly with her. We should jointly oppose every wrong policy of the Central government."
"BJP Government at the Centre is giving step-motherly treatment to the non-BJP ruled states in the country. I am also a victim of similar treatment. The poor, laborers, farmers and minorities in the country are looking at the opposition with hopeful eyes. It is the moral responsibility of all of us to give due rights to such weaker sections. It is very important to keep such classes of people together," said the CM.
"The opposition needs to corner the Central government with burning issues. Workers and farmers have nothing to do with the Pegasus issue, but the Opposition needs to mobilize and raise their voice against the Central government with issues like farmers' policy, employment to laborers and jobs and self-employment to the youth. Inflation is touching the sky, jobs are being lost from the hands of people. These issues should be taken up vigorously," he added.
The Jharkhand CM said that things are not clear regarding Covid-19 vaccination. The Central government needs to tell the public how much the Central government is spending on vaccination. Things are not looking transparent among the state governments regarding Covid-19 vaccination, he added.