Collective fight demands collective responsibility but unfortunately Union cabinet, the country’s highest decision making body running the affairs of the central government does not own collective responsibility for the post COVID-19 lockdown failures putting the lives of hapless migrant workers and people stranded at their job places to high risk. Desperate to reach their homes, the migrant workers and people stranded at their work places in different parts of the country tend to violate lockdown with the only motive of travelling to their native places for spending the lockdown period with their families. Had the Prime Minister set three day deadline for the migrant workers and people working and studying in country parts outside their native places to reach their homes before announcing the timing for the enforcement of the countrywide lockdown, the crisis of accommodation and food facilities for lakhs of stranded people won’t have erupted. Prime Minister alone is not to be blamed for a hasty decision on the enforcement of countrywide lockdown which has put the lives of the stranded people at greater risk but the whole cabinet has to own the responsibility with an announcement for an alternative travel plan for the stranded people. Arranging accommodation and food facilities for lakhs of stranded people for an indefinite period won’t be as easy as it looks now and ultimately government would be left with no other option but to arrange transport facilities for the travel of migrant workers to their native places. The sooner it happens, the better it will be both for the health safety of the stranded people and as well as the strict enforcement of the lockdown.
This was not the right time for the Home Minister to skip a meeting which was called to discuss the supply of essential commodities and lockdown enforcement in the country. Hope senior ministers of the incumbent central government show their commitment for collective responses to the intensifying challenges of COVID-19 pandemic spread in the country.
A decision could have been taken at a crucial meeting of the senior ministers of the central government held on Saturday last week under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh but unfortunately the Home Minister Amit Shah did not attend the meeting and absence of Home Minister at the meeting has sent out a message that even the union ministers are failing to show collective responses to the ongoing crisis triggered by the increasing spread of a deadly disease like COVID-19. The health crisis deepening day after day demands collective responses from the union cabinet and attempt to show differences in this hour of severe crisis by any ministers of the central government is against the spirit of collective responsibility. This was not the right time for the Home Minister to skip a meeting which was called to discuss the supply of essential commodities and lockdown enforcement in the country. Hope senior ministers of the incumbent central government show their commitment for collective responses to the intensifying challenges of COVID-19 pandemic spread in the country.