[Marxistindia] Sitaram Yechury's Leter to President of India on COVID-19

[news from the cpi(m)]

Press Release

We are releasing the 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 take  
act on the measures suggested in his letter.

CPI(M) Central Committee Office


Full Text of the letter sent this morning
April 06, 2020


Hon’ble Rashtrapathi ji,

I am writing to you, as you are the custodian of the Indian  
Constitution under whose sanction and authority, the Central  
Government functions.

The country and people have gone through two ‘symbolic’ events so far.  
Disturbingly, yesterday’s symbolic event was observed by many as a  
celebration by bursting crackers, as the country is in the midst of  
this grim battle against the pandemic. I’m sure you would agree that  
such symbolism cannot substitute urgent concrete measures that need to  
be undertaken by the government.

I am constrained to seek your intervention as my earlier  
communications to the honourable Prime Minister and Finance Minister  
have not seen much response. As this is “your government”, I, on  
behalf of our people, appeal to you to consider the following issues  
and direct the government accordingly in the interests of battling and  
defeating the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister’s announcement of a 21-day countrywide lockdown  
came with a mere four-hour notice. However, the single-day “Janata  
Curfew” that he had called on March 22 had a two-day notice so that  
people could be prepared.

This lockdown has been forced without any prior preparation, neither  
by the government nor by the people. The result has been a degree of  
chaos and anarchy which defeats the very objective of containing  
community transmission of this pandemic.

Hence,I request you to direct the government to address the following  
issues on a war-footing:

1. Migrant Workers

Lakhs and lakhs of migrant workers who have lost their livelihood and  
daily earnings due to this lockdown have been rushing back to their  
homes, hundreds of kilometres away. Further, this is the harvesting  
season and many of them return to help out their families during this  
period.

The Government had organised special flights to evacuate Indians  
stranded abroad. Similar arrangements could have been made through  
trains and buses if not planes for our brethren, failing which  
temporary shelters maintaining personal distance should have been made  
prior to the announcement with adequate provision of rations and stay  
facilities.

2. States Not Taken into Confidence

Federalism is a fundamental feature of our Constitution. Article 1 of  
the Indian Constitution defines “India, that is Bharat, is a Union of  
States”.

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister did not take the elected state  
governments into confidence before announcing the countrywide  
lockdown. Many states were completely unprepared as a consequence.

Now asking the state governments to take the responsibility for the  
migrant workers’ crisis is very unfair. The central government must  
generously financially support the states in these efforts. The  
announcements recently made of transfers from The State Disaster Risk  
Management Fund are meager and inadequate.


3. Mitigate Adverse Economic Consequences

  a) Crores of people have lost their earning capacity. We cannot  
allow a severe crisis of mass hunger and shortage of food  to occur. I  
am sure you will agree that this must be prevented at all costs.

In the central FCI godowns in the country, there is a stock of nearly  
7.5 crores tonnes of foodgrains. Rather than this stock becoming  
rotten or feeding rodents, it should be immediately lifted and  
dispatched to the states for distribution among people who have lost  
their earnings.

b) The economic consequences of this lockdown have further exacerbated  
the recession that had set in before the outbreak of the pandemic.  
Many firms are laying off workers and in many states there have been  
substantial salary cuts. The government has ordered that salaries  
should be maintained but in practice this is not happening. Employers  
are saying that since their business has come to a standstill they  
cannot pay salaries.

The governments of many countries have undertaken to compensate the  
employers, some to the tune of 80 per cent of their wage bill. “Your  
government” should likewise announce such a measure.

c) The loans taken by crores of middle class people need to be repaid  
in instalments. Such payments must be deferred  by at least three  
months. Likewise EMI payable must be also be deferred by three months.  
Deferment must be interest free.

d) The agrarian distress is bound to intensify. Under these  
circumstances, “your government” must immediately announce a one-time  
waiver of loans taken by our kisans. This is perfectly possible given  
that so far loans worth Rs. 7.78 lakh crores taken by our super-rich  
corporates have been waived by this government. Surely, such empathies  
can also be extended to our “annadatas”.

4.Shortage of Medical Equipment

There are numerous reports about acute shortage of critical medical  
equipment. Our courageous health workers, braving the most adverse of  
circumstances do not have proper protective gear. Already there are  
reports from many hospitals of them contracting the infection.  
Aggressive augmentation of PPE’s must undertaken immediately.
There is a likelihood of shortage of hospital space for isolation  
wards which, at least now, should, be augmented urgently. There is an  
acute shortage of ventilators, which must be acquired promptly.

It is being universally commented that the testing rate in India is  
one of, if not, the lowest in the world. As opposed to 7,659 per  
million in South Korea, in India the figures is an abysmal low of 32.  
This is extremely dangerous for the future. The country needs to test  
as extensively as possible, identify the clusters where the virus is  
being transmitted, isolate them and enforce lockdown in those areas  
and not countrywide.

These measures must be undertaken on a war-footing and “your  
government” must be directed to do this.

5. New COVID-19 Fund

Strangely, “your government” has established a new fund to combat this  
pandemic called the “PM Cares”. Statutorily, the Prime Minister’s  
National Relief Fund has been in existence since independence. This  
fund is transparent, accountable and audited by the CAG. The “PM  
Cares” fund on the other hand is administered by a trust of four - the  
Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Defence Minister and the  
Finance Minister. How the fund live be collected disbursed, what is  
its accountability — all these are unknown. There are disturbing  
reports of coercive collections, automatic deduction of a day’s salary  
from government employees and professionals, including health workers,  
without their concurrence.

Already  some thousands of crores have been collected from the  
corporates, celebrities, public sector undertakings and salary cuts.

The country has the experience of a similarly administered fund called  
“Bharat ke Veer” established after the Pulwama terrorist attack to  
assist the victims of that tragedy and their families. Till date its  
details have not appeared in the public domain. I’m sure you would  
agree that such fund is non transparent and non accountable. How can  
you permit “ your government “ to do this?

I am seeking your intervention to merge this newly created fund which  
should have been, appropriately called “INDIA CARES”to begin with,  
with the PMNRF.

Further, as the delivery of health is primarily the responsibility of  
state governments, bulk of this fund should be transferred to the  
respective states to ensure effective implementation of measures to  
fight COVID-19.

6. Communalisation

Finally, you will appreciate that it is a matter of serious concern  
that attempts are being made to blame a particular community for the  
spread of the virus. The organisers of Tablighi were very  
irresponsible. This, however, cannot be the excuse to target the  
Muslim community as a whole. Unless stopped this will disrupt the  
people’s United struggle against Covid pandemic.

You might be in the know that many congregations, religious and  
otherwise, took place even after the government’s orders banning such  
gatherings came into effect. Even parliament functioned till the eve  
of the countrywide lockdown being declared. A floor test was held in  
Madhya Pradesh, a new government was sworn in encouraging defections.  
All those who attended such gatherings must be tested forthwith and  
isolated to contain the further spread of the pandemic.

As the custodian of the Constitution, I hope that you will not allow  
communal polarisation to grow in these trying times when the country  
needs to be united in its fight against an enemy that does not  
distinguish on the basis of identities of religion, caste, class etc.  
Please impress upon” your government” that what is needed is human  
empathy not criminalisation.

I beseech you to take these issues with all the seriousness that they  
merit and the urgency they warrant. Please do direct “your government”  
to immediately act on these matters, on, I repeat, a war-footing.





Yours sincerely




(Sitaram Yechury)
General Secretary

Shri Ram Nath Kovind
The President of India
Rashtrapathi Bhawan
New Delhi