Accused of Crimes Against Humanity, Modi Must Take Covid Vaccine Publicly
While there are concerns about the safety of Covid vaccines, people urge Modi to first take the vaccine himself publicly before releasing it for the other citizens of India.
By Rakesh Raman
When hundreds of thousands of migrant workers were walking miles on the roads after PM Narendra Modi’s abrupt announcement of coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown in March 2020, he ignored their miseries.
When the Covid infection was spreading rapidly in India, instead of improving the healthcare infrastructure, demagogue Modi asked his unruly followers to bang their kitchen utensils.
When people were losing their jobs because of the unplanned lockdown, Modi did not take any action to save them from the economic disaster.
When hundreds of thousands of people were dying with the Covid infection, Modi downplayed the effect of infection and talked about the patients recovery rate, which is an irrelevant parameter.
When people started protesting on the streets against the anti-people actions of the Modi government, he used a coronavirus excuse to unleash police brutality on protesters to stop their peaceful protests.
As Modi’s negligence caused a countrywide Covid disaster, it amounts to crimes against humanity. A human rights activist Harsh Mander said that Modi’s 60-day coronavirus lockdown in India, announced with four hour’s notice, was: “A crime against the people of India. It is and must be recognized to be a crime against humanity.”
While Modi is an uneducated politician, he takes random decisions in an autocratic manner without following the experts’ advice. Earlier, a leading Indian businessman and managing director of Bajaj Auto company Rajiv Bajaj had said that the Indian (Modi) government had imposed a draconian lockdown to contain coronavirus.
He added that the lockdown restrictions were so stringent that people were not allowed to come out of their homes, but still it was a porous lockdown because the infection kept spreading and now it is increasing.
| Coronavirus Management Steps Taken By |
|
| Great World Leaders | Narendra Modi of India |
| Allowed people to prepare before lockdown | Announced lockdown with a dictatorial diktat |
| Giving free ration to people at their homes | Giving only bhashan (political speeches) to people |
| Providing hospital equipment to doctors | Asking people to bang their utensils to support doctors |
| Providing shelter to people in hotels | Allowed people to die on open roads |
| Implemented coronavirus lockdown successfully | Lockdown failed for lack of planning |
| Providing healthcare to people in homes | Asking people to watch a Hindu TV serial Ramayana at homes |
| Holding press conferences to inform people | Delivering meaningless monologues |
| Transparency in handling coronavirus funds | Chances of corruption in coronavirus funds |
| Increasing number of coronavirus tests | Hardly any tests while thousands of people die |
| Making hospitals for citizens | Making detention centers for citizens |
| Working with teams of experts | Working alone or with unskilled bureaucrats and clueless ministers |
| Managing as intelligent leaders | Behaving as a religious demagogue |
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that India’s GDP will shrink 10.3% in the year to March 2021 as PM Modi’s sudden lockdown has paralyzed the economic activity in the entire country.
With this horrendous record of dealing with the Covid calamity, Modi is patting on his own back for his actions during the Covid pandemic which is still raging across the country.
When the infections have crossed the 10-million mark (according to official data; actual number of infections and deaths can be much higher), Modi has started talking about Covid vaccination, which has yet to prove its effectiveness.
While Modi does not understand any topic that needs the use of intellect, he reviewed the preparedness of the Covid vaccination on Saturday (January 9) and declared that the vaccination will begin on January 16.
“On 16th January, India takes a landmark step forward in fighting Covid-19. Starting that day, India’s nation-wide vaccination drive begins. Priority will be given to our brave doctors, healthcare workers, frontline workers including Safai Karamcharis,” Modi tweeted along with a press communique.
According to the official communique, emergency use authorization or accelerated approval has been granted by the national regulator for two vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) which have established safety and immunogenicity.
While there are concerns about the safety of these vaccines, people urge Modi to first take the vaccine himself publicly before releasing it for the other citizens of India. He can learn from the example of the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden who received a Covid-19 vaccine live on television to allay fears about the early-stage Covid-19 vaccines.
Since there is no accountability for Modi and his government, he has been taking arbitrary decisions about lockdowns, about collection of funds to combat the disease, about vaccination, and so on.
It is being alleged that there is a huge possibility of misappropriation of public money in the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) that Modi had set up to collect Covid donations in India.
As Modi failed to manage the Covid crisis, in an ongoing RMN Poll, 81% people say that PM Modi is not handling the coronavirus crisis effectively.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
