When Leaders Turn Inhuman and Insensitive
As a popular saying goes it takes hundred years to build, but just a minute to destroy. When the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre started destroying one by one the institutions built over the past 70 years by the Congress, people assumed that the prime minister was going to build something new and different. Thus, despite the pathetic performance of the Modi-Government on the economic front during the first five years, the people gave the prime minister a second chance by re-electing his party to power. The second term so far has seen more destructions. No one knows what he is up to build. As the pro-Modi media kept projecting the prospects of India emerging a vishwaguru (master of the entire world), the people believed it. Now the reality has hit them hard. The Coronavirus has removed the mask from the government’s face. As the virus has been playing havoc with the lives of the people, the Government has virtually washed off its hands and seems to be suggesting that the people are responsible for their lives.
What is even more shocking is the utter insensitivity with which the political leadership is reacting to the woes of people. It is not the helplessness of the government which people will have to come to terms with but the utter disregard with which some leaders have treated the people’s ordeal. When the leadership of a country is heartless, catastrophes like the Coronavirus pandemic will not be accidental. A young man in Uttar Pradesh has been booked under the National Security Act just because he sought on Twitter oxygen for his ailing grandfather. The Government considered the tweet a false rumor about the shortage of oxygen in the state.
The Government’s view was that this youngster had put the reputation of the government at stake even when his grandfather was not a Coivid-19 patient. While this ailing man had no Covid, he did need oxygen and he eventually died. But the standing order of the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is that the State faced no oxygen shortage and anyone saying anything which suggested otherwise should be booked under Goonda Act. The people in Uttar Pradesh are scared even to ask for oxygen to treat patients and those who raise voices against the shortcomings in the public health system of the state face the prospect of landing in jail.
Karnataka is not far behind. Recently, a former MP of the BJP publicly announced that the poor should not be given free rice under the Corona relief package as it would make them lazy. What the senior politician forgot is that the people are not dying just because of Covid but also because they go hungry with no possibility of earning an income during the lock down. People are seen eating the food spilled on the street. It is cruel to say that free food should not be distributed when the poor are in such a dire strait. This politician did not stop with his tirade against relief package for the poor. He went on to recommend that putting a few drops of lemon juice in the nose would produce enough oxygen to save those in need of oxygen support. If the humble lemon juice could have addressed the oxygen shortage in such a simple manner, why the hospitals in the country are not resorting to this solution? This suggestion is as ridiculous as the one heard previously that the cows exhale oxygen. In fact, a teacher in Raichur tried the lemon juice treatment on himself and lost his life but the police have not booked any case against the leader who misled the people and showed utter insensitivity towards the plight of those who are desperately queueing up in front of the hospitals for oxygen.
A minister in Karnataka created another record in insensitive behaviour. Food and Civil Supplied Minister Umesh Katti asked a poor man to ‘go and die’ when the latter sought the minister’s intervention to ensure the supply of food grains through ration shops. The minister said this in response to the poor man’s helpless question: ‘do you expect to us to die without food?’ The minister had no remorse for his indifferent utterance, and he later even defended it. The minister must know that the lockdown has proved even more problematic for the poor than the coronavirus. It has snatched the sources of livelihood from around 60 per cent of the daily wagers.
As the minister for food, he should have given some reassurance to the man seeking his help, but the minister’s response smacks sheer arrogance of power and utter disdain towards the disempowered. In the same vein, Revenue Minister R Ashok had assured that that the Government would make all arrangements for the cremation of the dead as if he were suggesting that the Government had no role in protecting the people’s lives and it would instead help them dispose of their bodies when they are dead. People do not need more crematoriums. They need hospitals, oxygen, and other means of saving their lives. But a leadership devoid of any humanitarian streak will only be able to show the people the way to the crematoriums. These leaders seem to need some oxygen of compassion for them to arrange the much-needed oxygen for helpless Covid patients.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Modi should leverage his ties with world leaders to de-escalate war in West Asia: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said India can play a meaningful role in de-escalation in West Asia, given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong relations with the warring countries and their neighbours.
He said Pakistan was leveraging ties with Iran and the United States, and that any effort towards ending the war should be welcomed.
"As I said in the House (Assembly), we would like the war to end as soon as possible. The role that the prime minister can play may not be possible for anyone else because of his good relations with all these countries," Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He, however, said any escalation would not be easy to manage.
"Any such move by US President Donald Trump, despite the long history of Iran resisting external domination, would not be easy," the chief minister said.
Asked about Pakistan mediating in the war, he said, "I will simply say that if any country can play a role in preventing this war, no one should have any objection to it."
He added, "I will repeat what I said … our prime minister has good and close relations with all countries — whether it is Israel, the United States, Iran, or the countries around Iran. If those relationships can be used to make some progress and help ease the situation, it would be a good thing."
Abdullah said attacks by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in India, as suggested by a report from the United States, are not unlikely.
Meanwhile, he asserted that any efforts to end the war, be it from Pakistan, must not be resisted.
"Pakistan is using its good relations with Iran and the United States to its advantage, and it has done so. How can we object to that? If that angle helps in stopping the war, would you want them not to act and let the war continue? We want the war to stop. If any country can play a role in that, it should. And if we can play an even better role, then we should do so," he said.
On unemployment in J-K, the chief minister said the issue cannot be resolved overnight, and government jobs alone are not the solution.
He stressed the need to explore alternative avenues, highlighting the importance of Mission Yuva in promoting entrepreneurship.
"Mission Yuva provides not just funding but also support in preparing DPRs and post-startup assistance, such as marketing. In just nine months, distributing Rs 1,000 crore and approving numerous schemes is a significant achievement," he said.
Abdullah credited the coordination between the government and Jammu and Kashmir Bank for the scheme's progress.
