THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: UDF MPs have alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan never bothered to convene a meeting of MPs or to take them into confidence in combating Covid-19 pandemic. They opined that it was the MPs who should have put pressure on the Centre to send a medical contingent to the Gulf countries for providing effective treatment to stranded NRKs.
On Tuesday, UDF convener Benny Behanan, MP, along with other UDF MPs K Muraleedharan, N K Premachandran, Thomas Chazhikadan, Anto Antony and Dean Kuriakose held a meeting at Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala’s official residence at Cantonment House here. After the meeting, Behanan told reporters that there was a move by the LDF government to delay the repatriation of stranded Malayalis in other states. He said the earlier announcement of Pinarayi was that the state was ready to welcome four lakh expats from abroad, including Malayalis from other states.
“But all these remained just pipe dreams. If the MPs’ meetings were convened, arrangements could have been made to send a medical delegation to the Middle East, after putting pressure on the Centre. Thousands of stranded Malayalis are forced to wait on the streets in broad daylight while in other states, there has been a smooth flow of their natives,” said Behanan.,” said Behanan.
K Muraleedharan, MP, alleged the district collectors have been given instructions from the government that they need not give any passes for lack of quarantine facilities. He also claimed that MPs’ representatives were not included in the various advisory committees to combat Covid-19 pandemic.