JOIN USThe Karnataka government has reduced itself to a laughingstock in people’s eyes with its numerous U-turns on crucial decisions ever since Covid-19 broke out. While ministers have been talking in divergent voices, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has himself added to the chaos by not standing by his own public pronouncements on numerous occasions. The recent somersaults over imposing a night curfew and restrictions on New Year eve celebrations are among the long list of flip-flops. Just as the hospitality industry began preparations for the year-end, enthused by the CM’s statement that night curfew would not be imposed, Yediyurappa sprung a surprise the very next day and announced a shutdown from 10 pm to 6 am. Barely had the decision been conveyed when an official notification announced that the curfew had been postponed by a day and its timings revised from 11 pm to 5 am. However, just a few hours before the curfew was to take effect, Yediyurappa declared that it had been withdrawn totally.
More tamasha was to follow with regard to the restrictions on New Year eve, too. After much dilly-dallying, the Bengaluru police commissioner issued orders that Section 144 CrPC, which prohibits assembly of four or more people in public, would be imposed from 6 pm on December 31. However, even before the ink on this notification had dried, the police, perhaps based on inside information from coronavirus that it would strike earlier and not at 6 pm, advanced the ban to 12 noon. Another hare-brained idea to allow entry to the city’s hotspots only to those with prior reservations in restaurants and pubs was fortunately withdrawn, but the intent behind such an order in the first place raised suspicions. As if all this weren’t enough, there is once again talk of night curfew, with Revenue Minister R Ashoka supporting it and Health Minister K Sudhakar opposing it, leading to further confusion.
Frequent changes in decisions have naturally set tongues wagging, with many openly alleging that the political apparatus is more interested in extracting its pound of flesh from restaurants, transport operators and other sectors which will be most impacted by the curbs, rather than in controlling the pandemic. The words of the government should have the strength and authority of a sovereign guarantee, but Yediyurappa and his team have lost credibility due to their total lack of consistency. Who will trust a government that does not speak in one voice and does a U-turn on its pronouncements every few hours?