[Marxistindia] Covid Victims: Compensation to Families

[news from the cpi(m)]

June 21, 2021

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued  
the following statement:

On Compensation to Families of Covid Victims

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) rejects the  
Central Government’s understanding with regard to compensation to  
Corona victims, as stipulated under the Disaster Management Act, which  
has been invoked by the Central Government to deal with the Covid  
pandemic. Under the provisions of this Act compensation to the victims  
of a disaster has to be paid.

The argument that the distribution of ex-gratia payments will strain  
the finances of the government is specious. The Central Government can  
very well raise the required resources if it abandons its  
preoccupation with maintaining the levels of fiscal deficit in a  
crisis of this dimension. Such fiscal fundamentalism in this  
catastrophe makes no sense.

Crores of people have lost their means of livelihood during the last  
one year and are struggling to survive. They are receiving very little  
help even in the struggle against the pandemic with grossly inadequate  
health facilities, shortages of life saving medicines, etc. The  
informal sector that is the basis for sustenance for crores of daily  
wage labourers has been virtually destroyed. This Covid pandemic came  
on top of such ruination that began earlier with the Demonetisation  
and GST.

Under these circumstances, ex-gratia payment to families who lost  
their members to the pandemic is a basic humanitarian need.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau demands that in accordance with the provisions  
of the Disaster Management Act ex-gratia compensation be given to  
families of all those who lost their lives succumbing to the Covid  
pandemic.

For CPI(M) Central Committee Office