By M L Satyan

Bengaluru, March 21, 2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech to the nation on the spread of coronavirus sounds quite ‘silly’ and ‘childish’ to me. The reasons are given below:

First of all, he has not announced any ‘welfare or relief measure’ that will benefit the common people. Why? He is not ‘pro-poor.’ Even at this stage he has no heart for the lower middle and economically backward people whose daily survival is a big challenge.

Imagine the situation of the people living below poverty line who are deprived of the basic necessities like food, clothes, shelter, health and education. Modi has no scheme for them.

Is Modi aware of the number of deaths occurring in India due to TB and HIV/AIDS? Another serious virus that is affecting the country is called “hunger virus”. Thousands of children die of hunger and malnutrition. The vaccine for this exists and it is called “food”. Neither the politicians nor the media pay attention to it. Why? Hunger does not kill the rich. Modi has no concrete plan to eliminate the hunger virus.

Look at the conditions of the daily wage laborers who do not get any work these days. Construction works and small industries have closed down. Most of the employers want to keep the laborers at a distance so that they are safe from the dreadful virus. Modi has no scheme for them.

See the condition of the small scale business people, especially the vegetable, fruit, flower vendors who sell in the push carts or on the footpaths. They borrow from the local financiers and they return the money with interest. Now, there is no business at all. How will they refund the money to the financiers? Modi has no scheme for them.

The auto rickshaw drivers have lost their income drastically as there are very few travelers. In Chennai Central Railway Station some of the auto drivers gave an interview to a local TV channel. They said that they are not getting even 200 rupees a day since most of the trains are running empty. “How can we pay the EMI?” is what they ask. The same case is seen with the licensed porters at the railway station. They have no income at all. Modi has no scheme for them.

Educational institutions are closed. Students belonging to the middle, upper middle and rich class are quite happy. But there are hundreds of thousands of children who are unhappy. Do you know why? They were all dependent on the ‘mid-day meal’ served in their schools. Now they are all starving. Has Modi any plan to feed those starving children?

Secondly, Modi has not learnt anything from his counterparts in other countries. Sri Lanka, Qatar, Singapore and Canada have announced social and economic welfare measures for their citizens so that they are not affected by the war-like situation.

Leave alone these countries. Take the example of the chief minister of Kerala. He has announced quite a few meaningful welfare measures for the common people. This is the type of leadership people expect from Modi.

His announcement of “clapping hands” for the doctors, nurses and health workers at 5 pm on March 22 is just “copying” from what happened in Spain. Just two hours after the appeal by the prime minister, the whole country clapped for the doctors. Modi’s suggestion sounds great.

But sadly he has not thought of any single welfare measure for them – like finance or material incentives since they are all “over-working,” making quite a lot of sacrifices. What is the use of just clapping hands, beating plates and ringing bells? It is a sheer foolish exercise.

If Modi was a good leader, then, he should have learnt the lessons from other countries or at least from the Kerala chief minister. In the absence of a single welfare measure, his speech becomes just an ‘eye-wash.’ His speech is filled with “instructions” what people should do and what people should not do. As he is only a preacher he does not bother about what he has to practice as a responsible prime minister. To me his speech is just a meaningless exercise (bakwas).

I have decided to keep a black flag on the main door of my house. Black symbolizes two things: first it is an expression of sadness and the second is a symbol of opposition. I wish to express my sadness on the innumerable deaths due to coronavirus and the people who are infected. I also want to register my protest and opposition to the prime minister who is incapable of governing the country.

(M L Satyan is a freelance journalist based in Bengaluru. The views expressed here are the writer’s own opinion.)