Actor turned politician Kamal Hassan has penned an open letter to Prime Minister Modi addressing the current COVID-19 crisis. In the letter which seems like a rant, Kamal says that ‘we are angry but still on your side.’
This is the second letter Kamal Hassan has addressed to the Prime Minister in a span of 15 days. The first one being on the 23rd of March where he brought the attention of the Prime Minister to the livelihoods of daily wage workers and the poor class. A day later, the Prime Minister announced the 21-day lockdown. Kamal, in his letter, has called the decision a ‘demonetization style.’
Demonetization Style Decision
Kamal repeatedly mentions the trust of 1.4 billion people on the Prime Minister but warns him of mistaking it for subjugation. He also warns about the lack of etiquette in the letter and follows up with an angry rant. My biggest fear is that the same mistake of demonetization is being repeated but at a much bigger scale, he says.
Kamal repeatedly brings the attention of the Prime Minister to the lack of empathy the government has shown towards the poor whose life, he claims, has become a ‘shameful spectacle.’ On Prime Minister’s weekly attempt to relax people of their stress, Kamal mocks the government of becoming a balcony government for balcony people.
All through the letter, Kamal doesn’t seem to be pleased with the attitude of Narendra Modi’s in addressing the nation. He calls out the Prime Minister for blatantly using the election style campaigning even during a pandemic. He accused the Prime Minister of slipping away to his comfort zone and outsourcing responsibilities to state governments and citizens. He further says,
“This is the perception you are creating, especially amongst those who spend enough time working toward and intellectualizing for a great today and tomorrow for India. I am sorry if I have offended you with the use of the word intellectual here, for I know that you and your government do not like that word.”
He also criticized the government for giving a notice of 4 hours before the lockdown while the government had a 4 month notice period to be prepared for the pandemic. ‘Your vision has failed’ he says.
All through the letter, common blame of Kamal has been the center’s move to safeguard the rich, the ones who brought the pandemic home, over the poor who are being made to face the consequence.
‘We are angry but we are still on your side’ he signs off.
