The second wave of Corona has killed more than 1 lakh
people and infected many more lakhs. The situation in Maharashtra, Delhi and
Gujrat is grim. In states like UP, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana and
Tamilnadu the pandemic is spreading rapidly. There is shortage of beds. People
are dying due to lack of oxygen supply and fire accidents at hospitals. The
center refused to acknowledge the shortage of vaccines and oxygen till now and
is being accused of favoring certain states. Also there are allegations of
vaccines reaching black markets. People are living in continuous fear. Workers
in the metropolitan cities are looking at every means to go back to their
villages. The prices of essential items and vegetables have increased
exponentially. The consequences of lockdown and curfew, measures being taken
for Corona prevention, are even worse, jeopardizing the lives and livelihoods
of the majority. But governments are busy in the service of big capitalists and
imperialists making legislations and selling public property for them. People
can see the contradictions between the big capitalists which is getting
expressed as the conflict between the ruling parties. They are realizing that
the agitations of there presentatives of the political parties are not for the people’s
sake but for their own interests. On the other hand, the ruling parties, comprador
bourgeoisie and imperialists intend that they can appease the people and dampen
their anger by throwing free schemes and reforms.
The attempts to keep people under religious chauvinism
have been intensified.BJP’s Modi has spent crores of rupees for laying the
foundation stone for Ram Mandir, during the Corona pandemic. Big Capitalists
and investors have announced hundreds and thousands of crores of donations for
the construction of the temple. In Telangana too, the government is
prestigiously building the Yadadri temple spending crores of rupees of public
money. Corona could not be a hindrance for organizing the Kumbh Mela. And as if
the festivities are not enough in Tirupati, a ‘researcher’ now declares that the
birth place of Anjaneya is Anjanadri hill of Tirupati, making this a full time
news on TVs. Thus temples are competing in attracting believers of Gods. All these
are attempts to constantly put people under the opium of religious. Secularism is
for the name’s sake.
The experience of these 70 years shows how federalism,
enabled with the declaration of Republic in 1950, was ruthlessly thrown asunder.
The system of conducting Elections by buying voters like sheep in the market,
became a norm. The center is even attacking on the bare minimum powers of the
state governments. Attempts to overthrow them by buying MLAs and creating
political crises are being overtly done by the BJP at the Center. It is not
only shrinking the power of the state governments but also attacking the people
in fascist ways. It created a war like situation in forest and tribal areas in
the name of suppressing the revolutionaries. The central government, which has
taken up the weapon of repression, is trying to suppress the farmers’ protests
across the country against the implementation of the three agrarian laws and
the workers agitations against privatization, in the name of terrorist threats.
Creating fearmongering over Muslim Terrorism, Left-wing terrorism and Naxalite
Terrorismbecame a daily routine for the government. It is being proved that all
this propaganda is to suppress the public outcry against their policies and
failures. Day-by-day people are becoming more aware of the conspiracies of the rulers.
Corona came forth as the common enemy of the poor and
the rich. The government is trying to evade its responsibility by blaming
people are careless about Corona precautions and
penalizing and criminalizing them.
The Central and state governments have learnt nothing
from the Corona experiences of last April, May and June. They made no efforts
to strengthen public health systems in the months between the first Corona wave
and the second. Not a single doctor or nurse post is filled on a permanent
basis. Not even a single make shift hospital per state, with medical equipment
and facilities, is built. In the name of conflict with neighboring China, the
imports of medical equipment and vaccine APIs are banned forcing our people to
buy them at exorbitant prices.
Those who should take care of the people are promoting
KumbhMelas, Brahmotsavas and Amarnath Yatras during the peak of Corona pandemic
and when the Medical and health systems collapsed and made Corona treatment a big
business. The fascist form, characteristic of finance capital, continues to be
seen in every action of the governments. The lives of the employees involved in
the election process, security personnel and the people lured and driven to the
election rallies and meetings are worthless for the ruling classes. They don’t
mind exposing the people to the pandemic Corona virus for their power thirst. Never
the less a day would come when workers, peasants and middle class will show the
strength of their unity.
People should be more vigilant towards Corona and more so towards the ruling classes who exacerbated this controllable crisis into a deadly pandemic. We mourn the lakhs of people who died with Corona and extend our sympathies to all the Corona victims in the country. We also thank and extend our heartfelt congratulations to the health staff and volunteers who are in the service of Corona victims.
Viswam
General Secretary,
Central Committee, CPI (ML)
