As Modi Govt Fails, Yashwant Sinha Demands Army to Handle Covid Crisis. Arrested
Reports suggest that many of these poor workers are dying on roads, as in the absence of any transport facility, they are walking hundreds of miles to reach their native places.
By Rakesh Raman
A former minister in India and rebel Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha has demanded the deployment of army in different states of India, as the government headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has failed miserably to handle the Covid-19 crisis.
Sinha sat on a dharna at the Rajghat in New Delhi on Monday (May 18) and demanded the deployment of armed forces particularly to help migrant workers reach their homes.
The Modi government has reportedly informed the Supreme Court there is a possibility that 3 out of every 10 migrant workers (or 30%) who are going back to their respective villages may carry the deadly virus along and spread it in the rural areas where 70% of India’s 1.4 billion people live.
“I have started a dharna today from 11 AM at Rajghat, Delhi to demand the deployment of armed forces and para military forces to take the migrant workers home with dignity, instead of beating them up and leaving them to die on the road. Need your support,” Sinha tweeted Monday (May 18).
After the abrupt announcement of coronavirus lockdown by Modi on March 24, hundreds of thousands of daily-wage workers are stranded in different parts of India while the Modi government and various state governments are not providing food, shelter, and other basic facilities to them.
DEATH THREATS FOR EDITORIAL WORK
As a journalist, I have been facing increasing threats including death threats for my editorial and anti-corruption work while the Indian authorities have ignored my complaints about these threats.
The Paris-based international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that defends freedom of journalists has urged the Indian government to save me from threats and persecution.
Christophe Deloire, Secretary-General of RSF, has written letters to Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Law and Justice Minister; Amit Shah, Union Home Minister; and others, asking them to take action against the culprits who threaten me. In an article written on its site, RSF explains that in the recent months I have received multiple threats for my reporting.
Now, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India has issued notice to Delhi Police in my case so that I could work and move freely, but the Delhi Police did not respond.
Rakesh Raman
Reports suggest that many of these poor workers are dying on roads, as in the absence of any transport facility, they are walking hundreds of miles to reach their native places.
As chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which runs the government in Delhi is responsible for coronavirus and the sorry plight of workers in Delhi, strangely a couple of AAP leaders also participated in dharna to ask Modi government to make proper arrangement for taking migrant workers to their states.
Sinha and others were arrested by Delhi Police, as Sinha tweeted Monday “We have just been arrested by the Delhi Police.” He added that he will continue his protest until the Modi government accepts his demands regarding army deployment and safe conditions for migrant workers.
Meanwhile, in an ongoing RMN Poll, 80% 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. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects. These publications include the “Covid Health Bulletin” that covers global coronavirus news and views.
