Ever since the Coronavirus outbreak hit India, the Modi government has been making all possible efforts to keep the novel Wuhan infection in check, and now the epidemic has been successfully contained with the percentage of positive cases per 100 tests being 2- the lowest among all big countries.
But derailing India’s fight against Coronavirus are some of the biggest detractors in the Indian political spectrum- the self-proclaimed anarchist Chief Minister of Delhi, Kejriwal and the Communist regime in Kerala.
Last Saturday, huge crowds of migrant labourers, running into lakhs mobilised at the Delhi-UP border after they were disowned by the Delhi Chief Minister, literally throwing the practice of social distancing out of the window and posing a major threat for the state of Uttar Pradesh as the Yogi government evacuated them from Delhi.
And now Kerala has also come into the picture over a major migrant crisis. A video going viral from the Kottayam District in Kerala shows thousands of migrant workers gathering together to stage a protest demanding that they be sent back. The kind of protest show that happened in Kottayam is the last thing we want during the Coronavirus outbreak as it can easily become a hotbed of Coronavirus, even if a single patient attends such a protest.
https://twitter.com/GirishP45126383/status/1244229111037345793
But Kerala might be even worse than what we can imagine. Another video from Lower Assam shows alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants returning to the state from Kerala in transport trucks meant to be carrying goods. Imagine illegal immigrants travelling almost 3,000 kilometres across the country to reach Assam at a time when a complete restriction on travelling is needed.
These immigrants travelling in close vicinity to each other in rather unhygienic conditions now pose a danger for the Northeast where only two people have tested positive for Coronavirus till now.
https://twitter.com/porbotialora/status/1244290379693715457
One cannot help but draw a parallel between what happened in Delhi and what is happening in Kerala, especially because there is also a stark resemblance between what triggered a migrant crisis in Kerala and Delhi. Kerala BJP president K. Surendran said, “They are restless because they are not getting food and accommodation. Hence, they want to go home.”
Shortage of food and lack of accommodation is also what caused the migrant crisis in Delhi, and now Kerala is going down the same line despite directives from the Centre to arrange shelter and food for the migrants.