CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his government's handling of the coronavirus situation in the country and charged that democratic accountability is grossly missing in his style of governance.
In a letter to the prime minister, Yechury said the political executive in the country is proving its "incompetence by knee-jerk reactions "and suggested measures that need to be put in place to fight coronavirus.
We are now entering the last week of the forty-day nation-wide lockdown that you had announced suddenly and abruptly with a mere four-hour notice. This left both the people and the state governments completely unprepared to meet the grave consequences of the sudden lockdown.
Since the lockdown, the urge among the migrant workers to return to their homes has seen surging crowds in huge numbers seeking to leave for their homes as they have lost all means of livelihood and shelter. This in itself negated one of the objectives of the lockdown, of maintaining physical distancing in order to contain community transmission, he said.
Hitting out at the prime minister, Yechury charged that he has shown a singular disdain to face the media and reply to the concerns of the Indian people, unlike many of your counterparts in the world".
Leaders of the government in most countries address regular press conferences and answer questions. This is the only way to remain accountable and to give confidence to the people that the government is both competent and in command of the situation," he said.
Pointing out that chief minister of the LDF government in Kerala holds a daily press briefing and outlines measures that the government has taken to generate the confidence required for the people to face this challenge, Yechury alleged, "Democratic accountability is grossly missing in your (PM's) style of governance"