Actor-Filmmaker turned politician, Kamal Hassan took a jibe at the Narendra Modi-led central government on the prolonged trouble faced by the guest laborers during the COVID-19 lockdown throughout the country.
On Tuesday, over 1,000 migrant workers deprived of jobs because the COVID-19 crisis came out in large numbers near the Bandra station completely defying the social distancing norm. Within two hours, they were dispersed using the police force. While the incident may have hindered the containment plans of the government in the city of Mumbai that has recorded the highest number of cases in the country. The incident also sheds light on the mismanagement in the handling of the migrant issue.
Hassan again Taunts the government with ‘balcony’ tag
Kamal Hassan took Twitter to taunt the government. He asked all the ‘balcony’ people to look at the ground down and hard. He also warned that the migrant worker crisis is a ticking time bomb and if it is not looked after, it might be a bigger crisis than corona. He also urged the ‘balcony government’ to focus on the happenings at the ground.
The Laborers spoke to the media and expressed their problem of not having enough money to survive in the city for 20 more days. The laborers said that they are desperate to go back home. Earlier in Delhi, people began walking hundreds of kilometers back home. The police, unable to disperse the crowd, finally resorted to lathi charge. After two hours of the gathering, the police were successful in dispersing the crowd. Meanwhile, the police have filed FIRs against 700 unidentified people of violating the lockdown code and possibly helping the spread of an epidemic disease.
Kamal Hassan had earlier penned an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing his support to the government. While he acknowledged the efforts, he said it isn’t enough. He called the BJP government as a ‘balcony government’ that refuses to look after the issues faced by the poor and the needy. He criticized the lack of preparations for the lockdown and took a jibe at Prime Minister’s initiatives of asking people to clap at their balconies and light lamps by saying it won’t solve the problems of the poor.
Source: Economic Times
