DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday alleged that the hasty clamping of the COVID-19 lockdown and the failure to take adequate protective measures in places such as the Koyambedu wholesale market complex where traders and people would crowd, was the major reason for the spread of the pandemic in Tamil Nadu.
In a statement issued in Chennai, he said people to a large extent had followed the lockdown regulations, but the government had pushed them to a corner by sudden announcements.
“In order to suppress the government’s failure, it seeks to shift the blame on to the people. During the conference with the district collectors, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had accused the traders of Koyambedu of non-cooperation when the government decided to shift it somewhere else,” he alleged.
According to Mr. Stalin, the decision to impose the lockdown within a short period of time had created anxiety among the people and they crowded the market to buy essential commodities. “When the DMK made a case for extending the shopping time, the government simply rejected the proposal,” he pointed out.
Mr. Stalin alleged that even though everyone was urging the government to come out with the reasons behind the infection, the government was not transparent. “The Chief Minister should not create unnecessary fear by saying that the disease has been spreading to other areas from Chennai through traders and workers,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said confusion and mal-administration had resulted in a dangerous situation in which medical professionals, police and sanitary workers were exposed to the infection. “At a time when we are facing the danger of community spread, the Chief Minister is trying to escape his responsibility by shifting the blame on people, traders and workers,” he said.
He said that at least now the Chief Minister should pay attention to generate livelihood and prevent the coronavirus infection infecting people who had borne the brunt of the pandemic for more than 50 days.
Recalling the Chief Minister’s argument that there was no food shortage, Mr. Stalin wondered how would the poor and those who were on the fringes without buying capacity were purchasing food and other essential commodities. “The government should distribute ₹5,000 to each of them,” he reiterated.
