KASARAGOD: Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf is on a day-long hunger strike to protest against the Karnataka government's decision to demand RT-PCR test results from fully vaccinated people.
The Karnataka government is violating not only the Union government's guidelines on inter-state travel for vaccinated persons but also violating the right to movement of people, said Ashraf at Thalappady, on the border of Kasaragod-Dakshina Kannada districts.
Thalappady on National Highway 66 is a key interstate border. "The Karnataka government's decision goes against the idea of one nation, one people. It reflects the narrow-minded politics of the government," he said. It is a shame that the Karnataka government is discriminating against the people of Kerala, particularly those from Kasaragod, in a year when India is celebrating its 75th Independence Day, he said.
According to the Union government's guidelines, RT-PCR tests should not be made mandatory for fully vaccinated people.
The Karnataka government is spreading a misleading campaign that Keralites were spreading covid in its state, Ashraf alleged. "The state government is creating an anti-Kerala sentiment in Karnataka to divert the attention of its people from real issues," the Manjeshwar MLA said.
The Karnataka government has made RT-PCR test results mandatory for people coming from Kerala -- irrespective of their vaccination status -- on August 2. Dakshina Kannada then had 2,948 active cases, with 219 daily cases. After two weeks, Dakshina Kannada district has 3,682 active cases of covid, with daily cases at 411.
Meanwhile, Kasaragod district -- which shares a long border with Dakshina Kannada -- has 6,331 active cases of covid, with 520 daily cases as on August 14 (Saturday).
On August 2, Kasaragod had 6,910 active cases, with 703 cases reported on that day.
Officially, 1,497 persons have succumbed to covid in Dakshina Kannada while in Kasaragod 927 persons who tested positive for covid have died. But the government has classified only 394 deaths as related to covid.