Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday urged the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) not to go ahead with its proposed dharna, which he said could turn into a COVID-19 super-spreader.
The Chief Minister said his government had fought hard to keep things under check and an event such as the proposed three-day dharna of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) in Patiala had the potential to negate the gains made by his government.
Captain Amarinder urged the farmers’ group not to "act irresponsibly" and jeopardize the lives of their own people with such "reckless behaviour" amid the pandemic, especially when there is a complete ban on all gatherings in the state. He said any violation of the ban would be highly detrimental to the interests of Punjab and its people. Such a dharna would draw people mainly from the villages, which were in any case going through a crisis during the second wave of the pandemic, he pointed out.
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The Chief Minister pointed out that his government was the first to pass amendment laws in the state Assembly to contravene the farm laws. "It is time for the farmers now to reciprocate by supporting the state government in the fight against the pandemic," he said, adding that just as the farmers’ interests were inexorably linked with that of Punjab, so was Punjab’s interest dependent on the farmers’ support to his government in the battle against COVID-19.
Captain Amarinder said Punjab had been one of the best-performing states as far as the management of the pandemic was concerned. There was no widespread shortage of oxygen in hospitals despite a shortfall in supply, as the state government had ensured judicious management of the critical commodity, he noted. Availability of medications and beds had been continuously ramped up to keep pace with the spiraling cases, he said, adding this was in sharp contrast to states such as Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh among others.
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"The only serious problem being faced by Punjab is the shortage of vaccines, which is not due to any mismanagement of the state government but that of the Centre," Captain Amarinder said, rejecting all charges of his government failing to tackle the pandemic effectively.
He pointed out that as a result of the concerted efforts of the government, the medical fraternity, the police, the civil administration and the village panchayats, Punjab had successfully brought the number of cases to 5,421 on May 22 from as high as 10,000 cases a couple of weeks ago.
