Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Friday that he hoped that Prime Minister Modi would match his ‘spread the light’ message with a stimulus package that would bring cheer to the hearts of all. He said to spread the light was a good thing, and he felt no need to oppose it.
But the critical point was to bring light into the lives of the people hit hard by the epidemic. The pandemic had brought economic ruin globally. Kerala, with its large diaspora, depends on income from Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKs) and may feel the pinch with its status as a predominantly consumer State.
People in the State faced the threat of losing their livelihood. Many have been without wages for 11 days and more. Small businesses required help to start again.
The global slowdown caused by the epidemic would force NoRKs to return home. The State has to confront several harsh economic realities in the coming days and ready itself for the worst.
“Let us hope the Prime Minister is preparing the nation for something better,” he said. Mr .Vijayan said there was nothing wrong in the police issuing a pass for BJP State president to travel to Thiruvananthapuram from Kozhikode. “He represents a political party. Politicians and persons in public life would require to travel even in times of lockdown,” he said. Mr. Vijayan said the government would act against a private hospital which denied treatment to the relative of a COVID-affected health worker.
