For how long will governance in India be guided by rhetoric, propaganda, pride and populism? How can our political leaders and representatives be so unwise and unresponsive in discharging their constitutional obligations and duties towards the plea of the common citizens who have largely been left to look out for themselves to arrange and mobilise basic healthcare resources and facilities against the pandemic?
I am sure we could have been in a better position to deal with the second wave of this deadly virus by focusing on preparation, and not assumption. Though our medical system has its limitations and shortcomings in its managerial manpower, a preventive cure of the virus could have been but implemented by hospitals to save lives had they not been overburdened.
Over a hundred people died in different private hospitals in the Capital citing a lack of oxygen supply. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered into an exchange of barbs and words after the former televised his video address to the latter. Such a situation could have been averted had they both worked in close cooperation, coordination and cooperation with each other’s agencies and organs, as we witnessed during last year when the whole country paled under a lockdown.
The interests and considerations of political parties should be set aside and efforts to mitigate the misery of a population should be thoroughly probed and investigated. Don’t we know how New York Times, Guardian and Al Jazeera have bluntly responded to the ugly turn of events responsible for the vast spread of this virus? These media platforms are commenting on the sad state of India’s political affairs with the negligent Centre refusing to learn a lesson from its sins. It is a democracy that believes in living in many centuries — ancient, medieval and modern.
Let us take their op-eds with a pinch of salt as we do for our lack of faith in those we elect and re-elect.