In the current covid scenario, as the deaths and despair haunt the entire country, there was shrill demand for resignation of the Prime Minister, who has been single handedly running the government since 2019. He is charged with arrogance, autocracy, indifference, incompetence and ignorance of the stark facts of the pandemic. He is pilloried by the international press and think tanks. One of the Australian papers said. “Modi is leading India to a virtual apocalypse”. A Swedish research organization commented that India is an “electoral autocracy”. The world powers however are supporting India for its geo-political significance and emerging market potentials and so on.

It is broadly agreed across the political and social segments that the government, namely the Union government has dismally failed in anticipating the damages the second surge could cause, managing the health crisis in the second time around, and minimizing the pangs of suffering people are going through, let alone the horrific deaths on the streets, car parks, hospital corridors, and everywhere else. More than 100, 000 people have died so far. This is a heart-wrenchingly massive number of people who died prematurely for want of oxygen to breath and bed in the hospital to fix the ventilator.
People have begun to question Modi’s style of functioning and ingenuity in dealing with a health emergency. Given the nature of the pandemic, the onus is on the Union government, but if we dig deeper, we will find that entire political leadership across the political spectrum has failed its people. Many political parties other than BJP are in power in one or state or the other. They too did not raise any alert about the killer-virus mutating in deadly manner, not did they make any arrangement to cope with the second wave on the prowl.
Before we substantiate our charge, which is not so difficult, let us underscore the need of a total political purge of our politics and build a new political culture which is accountable to its electorate and dutifully caters to their needs and aspirations. We must get rid of the current culture of politicians which is self-serving in utter disregard of people’s needs. After they are elected, they unseemly bypass their electors, become a delegate of the party and are least responsive to the people until the next election. We charge all political parties in governance or in opposition of failing the people.
One is reminded of the famous speech of Olivier Cromwell in 1653 while dismissing the rump parliament in England. He thundered, “It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place…..You are a facetious lot and enemies to all good government ………Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the people……. You were deputed here by the people to get grievances redressed, and you are yourselves become the greatest grievance… In the name of God, go!” The change in the players we need is a replacement of Oliver Cromwell. Since we are not a monarchy, and our president is a titular head of the Republic, it is the people who have that sovereign power in a democracy.
So, on behalf of people who died of and are suffering from the dreaded disease, Covid-19, we the citizens of India repeat the Cromwellian purge of our politicians. We vote them out in the elections, the surest political weapon at hand and bring people who have integrity, accountability and are service-oriented. The deaths and despair of the people have to stop.
The charge against them is as follows. A year ago, when the virus entered India, the Union government imposed a lockdown, and perhaps rightly, when some 5000 odd people were infected. Although migrant labourers suffered due to sudden implementation of the lockdown, the governments provided relief, albeit a bit late, the dry and cooked food, and financial incentives. Your prompt action in dealing with the health emergency including producing and supplying overseas the vaccines which earned us goodwill and praise of several foreign governments. Although there were lapses, we will give the credit to the Union and other state governments for taking necessary steps.
Having done that, while several countries were already combating the second surge of the virus in a mutated form which is more lethal, the Union government thought that we had defeated the virus and are free from any more attacks. That is why perhaps there was no work done on expanding and augmenting the health infrastructure, vaccinating the population as a preventive measure, no early warnings issued to people. What was worse, Union council of ministers including the Prime Minister spent a lot of time and energy in fighting the state elections in utter disregard of covid protocols which the PM had advised to people in your Man ki Baat and occasional TV addresses.
What to speak of the Kumbh mela where lakhs were taking holy dips without taking any care in relation to the spread of the virus. We remember there was an outcry in the media and public domain when members of Tablighi Jamat gathered in a mosque in Delhi without observing covid protocols. There were cases of carriers of Covid virus from that religious assembly. Did we not learn any lesson from it? We repeated the same mistake in Kumbh mela and worsened the problem manifold. As we are treating the covid patients, all kinds of rumours, scandals of hoarding and black marketing of medicines etc are surfacing. This has to stop.
Till the next elections, the covid has to combatted. So we give an opportunity to our leaders to fix things. To start with, one of the Chief Ministers, Sri Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh has offered free treatment to Covid patients in all the government and empaneled hospitals, and has a put a cap on the treatment costs in other hospitals should people choose to go there.
We request the PM to encourage the governments of all the states to replicate this good practice. Since health is a state subject, the Central government can support the state governments in taking this step from the PM cares Fund or other sources.
We also request you to ensure better distribution of the aid arriving from abroad. It is a public knowledge that relief is not reaching the targets in time and as per need. That is why perhaps the Supreme Court has advised the central government to engage NGOs and other Civils Society bodies for distribution of the relief. The NGOs are more accountable and have greater proximity with the people.
The PM is acknowledged for his decisive and efficient leadership by the world leaders. Donald Trump had said in India about the PM,” Modi cares for the people and works hard for them”. Those who lost their lives were deprived of your sterling leadership qualities. Let other people benefit from your leadership at the time of the gravest crisis they are faced with.

Email:---dr.dkgiri@gmail.com