Brave protests in Kerala – An inspiration

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many Indians made their way back to the country from abroad but some state governments are just looting them in the name of ‘Paid quarantine’. The NRIs are just believing the governments and are spending a lot of money even on some basic facilities.

Now, the UDF (United Democratic Front) staged a protest over Kerala govt’s decision to charge NRIs for institutional quarantine. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had told reporters on May 26 that the government had decided to levy the charge as the expenses for arranging quarantine facility for all those who have registered to return to the state were huge and the government could not afford it.

The lead opposition in the state, UDF’s leaders said that the government is treating the NRIs as paid guests and termed their decisions as ‘Harsh’. They also reminded that, on average, daily three Malayalis are dying abroad because of this COVID-19 and still, the Kerala CM is not wanting to help them out with the money received from as the crisis fund.

The UDF has a reason in their argument that all the CM Relief Fund amount was saved as no new cases have been registering in Kerala for the past week and the decision of CM Vijayan in this crisis period is indeed strange.

As of now over 4 lakh people from abroad, mostly from the Middle East, have registered with the Non-resident Keralites Affairs Department to return to Kerala. The government has made institutional quarantine must for everybody, except elderly people, pregnant women and children below 10 years for a week.