Corona

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Launch Free, Universal, Mass Vaccination Drive

Immediate measures to combat the pandemic, protect people’s lives and livelihoods are needed to be undertaken by the central government on a war footing.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

A Universal Mass Vaccination Programme

Essential to Meet This Grave Health Emergency

The new vaccine policy announced yesterday, is once again an effort by the central government to absolve itself from the colossal health crisis that they have created. There is an effort to shift the entire responsibility on to the state governments. 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its grave concern at the devastation being caused by the surging pandemic in the country.

In such a grave health emergency, it is incumbent upon the central government to at least do the following:

In the current situation when at least  an additional 150 million people have been rendered unemployed during the lock down period adding to the overall huge numbers of the unemployed. A vast section of our people have lost all means of livelihood. The heart rending experiences of hungry migrant workers on the roads marching back home has shown the depths of huger that a sizeable section of our people are suffering today. The PB decided that protests against these conditions must be organised all across the country. These protests will scrupulously observe the regulations and restrictions prevailing in each area maintaining physical distancing,  wearing protective masks etc.

The Indian economy was already in the grip of a severe slowdown, bordering on recession, with largescale fall in production, job loss, agrarian distress and a steep rise in unemployment on the eve of the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. With this lockdown the situation has worsened and the misery of the people has grown exponentially.

My previous communications to you listing out various measures that the central government must undertake to alleviate the sufferings of a vast section of our people during the lockdown have gone unanswered. In fact they have not even been acknowledged, which is unusual.

However, the ordinance issued by the President of India has certain serious flaws. Section 3 (c) and 3 (d) together violate the principle of common law accepted and followed by all countries in the world including the criminal law jurisprudence in India on the vital issue of presumption of innocence until proven guilty. These two sections together overturn this principle on its head. This is open to gross misuse, harassment and targeting.

Full text of the letter addressed to the President of India by CPI(M) General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury, urging the President to prevail upon the Central Government to act on the measures suggested in his letter.