The Left parties on Friday appealed to the Centre to immediately increase the financial assistance being given to the states governments facing crippling shortage of funds in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
In a joint statement, the parties -- Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc -- said there is an urgent need to stop the growth of"widespread hunger and malnutrition".
"The COVID-19 pandemic feeds on such conditions of the people,"the parties said, demanding at least 35 kg of food grains must be provided per family with or without ration cards and the promised Rs 500 to all women Jandhan account holders should also be provided soon.
"Much of the work to contain the spread of coronavirus has to be undertaken by the states and they need to be financially equipped for that.
"The state governments are already facing severe financial crunch and would not be in a position to undertake these tasks. They must be liberally assisted financially by the Centre. Limit on states' borrowing must be increased. On this, depends the life and livelihood of crores of Indian people," the statement said.
The parties also said there is also a need to step up testing during the lockdown to identify clusters where this pandemic is spreading, isolate those areas and treat the people properly.
They pointed out that currently India's testing rate is one of the lowest in the world. It is 241 times lower than South Korea, the parties claimed in the statement.
Also Read
They also highlighted the increasing reports of growing shortages of essential commodities and medicines and said there is no clarity on the movement of trucks carrying essential goods across the states.
"There is a growing genuine complaint from the health workers who are courageously discharging their duties, of the lack of personal protective equipment and medicines. They must be provided immediately. Equipment like ventilators must be acquired urgently or on priority. People suffering from other life-threatening conditions cannot be neglected for treatment by the health facilities," the statement said.
It also warned against communalisation of the disease, referring to the Tablighi Jamaat issue and said steps must be taken to ensure that it doesn't take on a communal fervour.
A huge congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in the national capital's Nizamuddin area earlier this month in alleged violation of lockdown orders has emerged as the biggest hotspot of the coronovirus outbreak.
"To convert that into a campaign for communal polarisation only divides the united effort required by all Indians to battle this pandemic and defeat it... Effective steps must be taken to dispel stigma, generating empathy not criminalizing patients. Curb fake news and communicate scientific facts of the pandemic. The central government should urgently intervene to ensure that this fight against COVID-19 is a fight in which all of us are united and determined to defeat it.
"Repeated calls for people's solidarity actions by the PM cannot substitute the need to address the above issues on a war footing," the joint statement said.
The statement was signed by CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI General Secretary D Raja, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)- Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, All India Forward Bloc General Secretary Debabrata Biswas and Revolutionary Socialist Party General Secretary Manoj Bhattarcharya.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content