December 2, 2021
Pratima Mondal speaks during discussion on COVID-19 pandemic and related aspects under Rule 193
Full Transcript
Sir, I rise to take part on the Discussion under Rule 193 on COVID-19 Pandemic and various aspects related to it. `Health’ is a State subject in India, and at the ground level, the State Governments have been leading the fight against the Coronavirus. But the most crucial aspect relating to policy response to the Pandemic rests with the Centre. Unplanned lockdowns to delayed response on travel restrictions at international level led to an unimaginably disastrous and chaotic situation in the entire country when the Pandemic had just set in. Be it the case of migrant labourers or students pleading for postponement of exams, the Government had disappointed all. Further, this unstructured response of Government is covered up by selfappraisal and falseclaims at every step. You had curbed our most important weapon, that is, the MPLAD Fund when we needed it the most, and due to which the amount of Rs. 1 crore that I assigned for covid-related work was never sanctioned. Not only that, when I approached various PSUs for Covid-related relief work, most of them turned me down stating that they have already made huge contributions to the PM Cares Fund, and thus, are unable to extend any further help. You cut the wings of a bird, and then,penalise it for not being able to fly. What form of public policy is this? The sudden lockdown led to individuals starving to death, after they were left without work, money or any way to travel to their native homes. Sir, the hon. Prime Minister does not believe in consultations. His Government is run by a few yes-men. In times of such crises, you need to discuss, first within the Cabinet, then with the bureaucrats; you need to have contrary opinions. One manarmy is never successful; it sounds good only in the entertainment world. So, please learn the facets of teamwork. The food shortages, directly related to the poorly executed lockdown, pushed hundreds and thousands of migrants to the edge of starvation. Here, I would like to take an opportunityto express my gratitude towards my colleagues and various NGOs whom I approached for helpand they actually helped the migrant labourers of
my constituency placed at different parts of the country. Sir, thousands of people have lost their jobs. Millions of people are facing loss
in their respective businesses, and the ray of hope is very dim. The blunder that has been made will take years, maybe, decades to cope with.
Another major issue that has been witnessed is related to the school fees. Even now, online classes are being held for which parents are spending thousands of rupees to purchase a smartphone and to pay for data separately. Not only that, no relief has been provided by lowering the school fees. The people who would not be able to afford this will take their children out from schools, and India will have a new
batch of uneducated youth. This cycle of poverty will go on and on. In a study conducted by Child Fund India, 64 per cent of the children
expressed that they may drop out if they are not provided with additional educational support. In order to prevent the creation of another generation of uneducated workforce in India, immediate steps are required to be taken. The state and non-state actors should work together to identify children from the special vulnerable groups through rigorous monitoring, locating them, and ensuring that they are back in
schools. Also, with the looming danger of a third wave and new variants like Omicron, it has become critically essential to analyse the preparations in place. Production of oxygen must be ramped up in the country so that no person has to lose his or her life due to the dearth of oxygen. The Government of India had sanctioned the plan of setting up of PSA oxygen plants across the country with the help of bo0dies like NHAI and several PSUs. I would like to state that I personally called the hon. Petroleum Minister, and I also talked to the hon. Speaker over telephone regarding setting up of an oxygen plant in a hospital in my constituency but all our efforts went in vain. The effects of the virus have been manifold across all sectors. People have lost their lives, families have lost their loved ones and their earning members. The
ones who escaped the virus have suffered job losses. So, it is my sincere request not to make this issue just a topic of debate in the House but to actually act upon it and ensure the all-round safety of the people of the nation. The image of migrant labourers walking hundreds of kilometres, pregnant women crying for help, children going to bed with an empty belly is haunting. Policies and schemes can never
compensate for what people of the nation have suffered. So, our aim should be to prevent the same situation from occurring again.
I would like to end my speech by paying my gratitude and great respect to all the doctors, nurses, ASHA and ANMs
