Karnataka govt should reach out to the poor: K K Manjunath Kumar

The Central and state governments have to respond to the needs of the poor immediately, according to a press release issued by Kodagu District Congress Committee president K K Manjunath Kumar.

Alleging that coronavirus was not coming under control only because of the biased decisions taken by the Central and the state governments, Kumar stated that the poorly planned lockdown had severely affected the lives of labourers and others with limited financial resources.

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"During the initial days of COVID-19 outbreak, the Central government did not take strict measures to screen the international passengers at the airports in India. The lockdown was imposed all of a sudden putting everything to a halt. This created a lot of panic and confusion among people. The interests of the working class is totally ignored. The future of farmers, migrant labourers, daily wage workers, autorickshaw drivers, mechanics and contract workers has become uncertain. Therefore, the government has to provide assistance to them."

Manjunath has stated that the problems of the people cannot be solved by mere clapping and lighting of lamps. There should be practical steps to provide job security to the youth. He accused the government of neglecting the APL cardholders. The BPL cardholders are provided only 5 kg of rice instead of seven kg.