The State government will introduce a resolution with Opposition approval in the Assembly on Thursday to condemn the Central government for decreeing that Indian citizens require a COVID-19 negative certification to travel to their country from Italy and Korea.
A calling attention motion moved by Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator K.V. Abdul Kader on Wednesday drew the attention of the House to the plight of Keralites stranded at airports in Italy for want of such a certificate.
Video messages sent by the grounded families to their relatives here narrate their inability to procure such proof at the last minute before boarding their flight. Several news channels disseminate the videos, which cause public concern, given the State’s large diaspora.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for making COVID-19-free medical testimonials compulsory. The decision sought to keep citizens out of their own country simply because they have an illness. It was a form of social ostracisation, he said.
PM’s intervention sought
Mr. Vijayan said he has sought the urgent intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar to redeem the worrying situation.
He has also communicated the distress of the stranded passengers in a letter to Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri. Mr. Vijayan said Chief Secretary Tom Jose has talked to the Union Cabinet Secretary late Tuesday. Mr Jose has gathered the impression that the Union Health Ministry insists that passengers bound for India from COVID-19 hotspots be tested for the contagion before being allowed to board inbound flights.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the United Democratic Front (UDF) would support the resolution in the House.
Fear of epidemic
He condemned the move to close the country’s borders against its citizens out of viral outbreak fear. Union Minister of State for Foreign Affairs V. Muraleedharan told journalists in New Delhi that the Congress and CPI(M) are politicising the outbreak.
The Assembly had earlier passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to repeal the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
