Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

CPI(M), CPI flay decision

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The leadership of the CPI(M) and CPI have come down heavily on the United Democratic Front (UDF) decision to organise a hartal in the State in the name of the chikungunya epidemic.

In separate statements here on Saturday, the CPI(M) State secretariat and CPI State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan termed the hartal call ‘absurd’ and ‘a visible evidence for the cheap politics’ being played by the Opposition even on grave issues such as a major disease outbreak.

The CPI(M) State secretariat pointed out that the UDF’s hartal call came at a time when the entire State should be standing together to fight against the fever epidemic. The UDF decision was politically motivated, condemnable and anti-people, it said.

The statement further pointed out that this was not the first time that the State had experienced such a fever outbreak.

Even worse diseases had broken out in the State. The State Cabinet had taken all steps possible to check the spread of the disease. It had taken steps to improve the functioning of the primary health centres and deputed doctors to all health centres that faced shortage of doctors.

The Government had also convened an all-party meeting to discuss ways to tackle the spread of the disease and made available the assistance of the Union Ministry of Health and Defence. It was against this backdrop that the Union Minister for Health criticised the UDF’s decision to organise a hartal in Pathanamthitta.

The UDF had now decided to organise a State-wide hartal ignoring the Central Minister’s advice, the CPI(M) secretariat said.

In his statement, Mr. Bhargavan said it did not behove responsible political movements to reap political capital out of a situation when the entire State should work together to check the spread of the disease.

He said it would not be possible to find a solution to the fever outbreak with hartals or violence.

There was some let up in the fever in the worst-affected areas, but much more needs to be done to ensure that the disease was brought fully under control, he said.

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