Cutting across party lines, several Lok Sabha members on Thursday during the Zero Hour highlighted the different challenges that have arisen in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Pushpendra Chandel from Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, pointed out that poor daily wage earners were facing severe hardships caused by “black-marketing of essential commodities”.
Also read: Coronavirus | Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India
All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Imtiaz Jaleel highlighted that Bank of Maharashtra, a public sector undertaking, had issued an “insensitive order” pushing a health insurance scheme in order to “encash on COVID-19 fears”.
BJP’s Surat MP Darshana Vikram Jardosh suggested that if international flights could not land in India, then Indian missions abroad should take care of citizens who were stuck in foreign lands.
Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) K. Ram Mohan Naidu pointed out that as many as 146 persons, including 41 students from Andhra Pradesh, were stuck at the Manila airport. “There is news that the airport is going to shut down and there is panic among students and their parents,” Mr. Naidu said.
Communist Party of India’s M. Selvaraj sought to focus attention on the poor people that were caught in Iran, which is in the grip of a severe COVID-19 outbreak.
