Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
Central
Committee
Statement:
Covid-19 Pandemic and Crisis of Capitalism
As Covid-19 is spreading rapidly across the globe,
it constitutes the most urgent and serious challenge to both
the health of humanity and world peace and development.
The CPI (ML) pays its
tributes to all the people, health workers in particular, who devote themselves
to saving lives and protecting people’s health. We extend our heartfelt
sympathies to those who are suffering from Covid-19 infection as well as the
bereaved families of those deceased. We also express our deep mourning for the
loss of lives in the pandemic.
If the Covid-19
outbreak is not effectively and promptly contained, it will cause greater harm
to the lives and health of people, and exert a severe damage on the economic
and social development of most countries. The CPI(ML) call on the Government of
India to put lives and health of the people above everything else and take
resolute measures to put an end to the spread of Covid-19. We call on the
people to comply with prevention and mitigation measures as advised by the
scientists with a due sense of social responsibility.
CPI (ML) stands
firmly against all discriminatory comments and practices against any country,
region or ethnic group. There are heinous attempts in India to tarnish one
community and one country as the cause of COVID-19 outbreak and calls upon the
people not to fall prey to these machinations. CPI (ML) call upon government of
India to take proactive measures to protect the health, safety and legitimate
interests of foreign nationals and students they host.
The COVID-19 outbreak
exposed the destructive irrationality of capitalist system. It has wasted the
natural resources, polluted the environment and created harsh conditions on the
earth for the living organisms to exist. Thus mutations in the lower forms of
life became imperative. The humans became victims of SARS, MERS and their
variants in the recent past. For nearly two decades, it is known to the
scientific researchers that there are hundreds of strains of corona virus. Thus
the functioning of capitalist system not only led to
the creation of COVID-19 but also failed to rational use of available
technology in preventing the pandemic.
The joint study and its report by the WHO and China was made available
by the last week of February this year. It contained suggestions that are to be
followed by all the countries. Yet, the Indian government did not respond as it
had to. A crucial one month delay caused wide spread of COVID-19 along the
length and breadth of India.
The well-established practice at the time of an endemic or pandemic is
the compulsory testing for infection of all suspects and then isolation of
confirmed cases. Contrary to this, the government used isolation and selective
testing. This is not effective in containing a pandemic of COVID-19 proportion.
The lock-down method is useful to gain time for preparation to contain the
pandemic. It can be used to blame the people for not observing the lock-down
has spread the infection.
The imposition of lock-down by the government is not associated with
well-planned strategy. The measures to contain Covid-19, including those of
public health, are themselves creating new burdens to the toiling masses. They
are left without job and pay. They have nothing to fall back upon.
Millions of migrant workers, separated from their families and
livelihoods, have to bear untold miseries. They came to metro cities in search
of jobs and leading a wretched life. All of a sudden they find themselves as
unwanted entitles. These workers are prepared to go back to their far flung
villages walking all the way along with their families. They had to face
barricades at every inter-district and inter-state border. They were made to
wait for days here without food and shelter. When these unbearable conditions
made them to proceed forward, they had faced brutal repression, frequent resort
by the failed ruler.
The government has no plan to extend a helping hand to them not to
mention the promises made by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Even
after two weeks of lock-down, the government has not yet made arrangements to
provide them with financial and other help. The higher ups in the power
incessantly talked about the Direct Benefit Transfer. The fact of the matter is
that more than half of jan dhan accounts are non-functional. The toiling masses
are left to fend themselves, while the Modi gave calls for showing solidarity
by clapping and lighting candles, that are nothing but show pieces.
The pandemic also brought to the fore the failure of the privatisation
of public health services taken up as a part of neo-liberal dictats. The
government run hospitals have to suspend all the medical services to other
ailments of people except COVID patients. They are overburdened and in case of
any surge in the COVID cases, the fragile system collapses.
CPI
(ML) once again calls upon the people to comply with prevention and mitigation
measures as advised by the scientists with a due sense of social responsibility.
Vijayawada
5
April 2020 Viswam
General
Secretary
C.P.I. (M-L)
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