THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Blaming the LDF government for a lack of clarity on the repatriation and quarantining of returning NRIs, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said on Wednesday that the state and Centre are making contradictory statements daily to make matters worse. Chennithala also said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is resorting to cheap political game by declining to accept the Rs 50-lakh cheque provided by five DCCs towards the migrant labourers’ rail fare.
The state has said the quarantine period for the returnees will be seven days, but the Centre said they have to go in for 14-day isolation. While Pinarayi called for making Covid screening mandatory for all expatriates, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said it is not.
“The Centre and state governments should work together on the repatriation of our stranded citizens, but both of them are playing a political game. The welfare fund at the embassies should be utilised for repatriation,” said Chennithala.“People no longer trust what Pinarayi says. Apart from expats, the condition of Malayalis stranded in other states is a cause for concern,” he said.