The AIADMK government’s handling of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic conveys too strong a political message to miss.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s approach has been not to give an inch of space to the Opposition in strategising and implementing measures to deal with the problem.
“Politically speaking, his approach appears to be a smart move as he wants to appropriate to his party the credit for all the steps being taken by the government,” says P. Ramajayam, Assistant Professor, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchi.
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But the academician and K. Jayakumar, Tiruvallur Member of Parliament and working president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC), feel that in a democracy, it has been a well-established practice and convention for the ruling party to take the Opposition into confidence.
“It is good for the ruling party and the people of the State that the government engages with the Opposition and civil society in times of a disaster or a calamity of any type,” Dr. Ramajayam points out.
“It is not merely a health-related matter [as contended by the CM]. Most of it concerns the management of resources in times of a crisis. This is why we, in the Opposition, demand that the Chief Minister consult us. Does not the Prime Minister have a discussion with leaders of other parties? Why did the Chief Minister have a meeting of the Cabinet on the lockdown extension?” the TNCC working president asks.
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Though the government appears to be in no mood to accede to the demand for an all-party meeting, over the last one month or so, it has responded favourably in its own way to some of the demands of the Opposition.
During the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DMK and the Congress had urged that the Assembly session, which was originally scheduled to go on till April 9, be brought to an end earlier than the revised date of April 30. The government, which initially rejected the request, subsequently got the session wrapped up by March 24.
Taking a hard line
Similarly, on the issue of letting political parties and others engage in the direct distribution of relief material and food to affected persons during the lockdown, the government appeared to take a hard line at one point in time, but then toned down its position following the Opposition’s strong criticism of its approach. More importantly, on the matter of extending the period of lockdown, despite the Opposition’s aggressive call for an extension, the government kept on referring to the Cabinet’s resolution on April 11 of preferring to go by what the Prime Minister decides. But less than 24 hours before Mr. Modi’s scheduled address on the morning of April 14, the Chief Minister announced his decision to extend the lockdown till March 31, which was later stretched further till May 3 in line with the Prime Minister’s announcement.
Replying to criticism, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar says that from the angles of both public health and administration, the government has been following “right strategies and the right path. So, there is no need for a rethink”.
Before its move to extend the lockdown, the government had consulted a host of public health and medical experts of eminence. As for the public administration, “where have we gone wrong”, the Minister wonders. “We have been implementing all the welfare measures and taking steps to lessen the pain of the common man, amid severe constraints,” he adds.