The COVID-19 management strategy of the State has yet again become a contentious political issue with Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan punching holes in the containment initiatives and accusing the government of failing to enhance the random tests for averting a community spread.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had been consciously staving off a controversy over Mr. Muraleedharan’s repeated attempts to put the government in the dock. He had been reiterating that the State was not on a collision course with the Centre and was religiously toeing its course on COVID-related issues.
The diatribe that began with the State deciding to open places of worship scaled a new peak on Friday with Mr. Muraleedharan accusing the State of using a Union External Affairs Ministry note that complimented the government’s “pragmatic approach in trying to contain the spread of virus” for its image-building exercise.
The trigger
Mr. Muraleedharan’s provocation appeared to be the Chief Minister’s observation that the Union Minister was not privy to most of the decisions of the Centre.
The remarks drew instant retorts from Law Minister A.K. Balan who reiterated that it was not a left-handed compliment but was the Centre’s endorsement of the State’s effort in fighting the virus spread.
The United Democratic Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party were almost on the same page in targeting the State on the repatriation of Keralites from the Gulf and other countries.
Right from the setting up of quarantine facilities for the Non-Resident Keralites to the government decision making virus test certificate mandatory, the UDF and the BJP did not spare any chance to target the government. They also tended to overlook the conduct of the SSLC and Plus Two examinations braving stringent criticism in a flawless manner.
Politicising issue
All these came in handy for the government and the Left Democratic Front to state that the Opposition was trying to politicise the virus spread to its advantage.
Mr. Muraleedharan’s remarks are also being construed as a calculated move to divert public ire against the Centre over the steep hike in oil prices by laying accent of the State’s virus containment activities and has put the State BJP on the defensive again.
