Chattisgarh Industries and Excise Minister, Kawasi Lakhma has traveled to Raigarh, 250 kilometers away from the capital city of Raipur, as he was apparently “tired of sitting at home”.
Lockdown in the Country till May 3rd
As announced by PM Narendra Modi a week ago, the country would continue to be in lockdown until the 3rd of May. In his message, Mr. Modi stressed on maintaining social-distancing norms and obeying the lockdown restrictions.
However, much to the disappointment of many, the elected representatives themselves have failed to behave responsibly amidst the crisis.
Kawasi Lakhma travels 250 km despite the lockdown restrictions
Although the initial explanation of the Minister was that he had gone to meet a ‘Godman’, later, Mr. Lakhma explained that he paid a ‘surprise visit’ to Raigarh, as he was informed of illegal liquor sale there and wanted to check personally on the same.
The minister had made his journey along with his convey and had traveled during the night. He initially told the reporters:
“ I was tired of sitting at home, so I came here to meet a Godman and I will return.”
Later, upon objection, he ‘clarified’:
“I received inputs about the sale of illegal liquor on the borders of two districts and decided to go and check by myself if the norms were being flouted by police.”
Allegations were also directed against Mr. Lakhma for opening a locked-down hotel so that he could take rest for a while. Later, he said that, since government guest houses were closed, he had asked a friend of his to arrange for accommodation at a lodge.
Opposition Leaders slam the Minister
Dharamlal Kaushik, the Leader of Opposition, said that despite even the migrant workers staying put due to the lockdown restrictions, it was a reckless act by Mr. Lakhma to tell that he was bored and hence, he had to travel.
A few others also called for an FIR to be lodged against the Minister, apart from dropping him from the Cabinet.