Hyderabad: An online petition created on Change.org platform on Saturday demanded resignation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his gross mismanagement of COVID-19 crisis in the country and several other reasons.
The petition has been filed by Mrunal Mathuria, who calls himself “a concerned Indian Youth”. At the time of filing this report, the petition had over 1,00,000 signatories. The petition, addressed to ‘the Common People of India’ and ‘the Leaders of Opposition’, highlights the misplaced priorities of the government at a time when a monstrous second wave of infections have hit the country, including election rallies and allowing Kumbh Mela.
“At a time when cases were surging rampantly, the actions and statements of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers has made us think about the Government’s scientific temperament,” the petition noted.
“Leaving the helpless migrant workers to travel thousands of kilometers unchaperoned and making special arrangements for devotees attending the Kumbh, the Government has always been in an election frenzy mode to appease their vote bank,” it added.
The petition questioned the Modi government’s preparedness for the second wave of COVID-19 in the past year, citing cases of acute shortage of oxygen, hospital beds, ambulances and space in crematoria.
The petition highlighted “heinous crimes” committed by the Prime Minister last year:
- Instituting a Lockdown in March 2020 without consulting ICMR appointed COVID Task Force scientists.
- Did not use the lockdown time to sustainable build up the nation’s healthcare infrastructure and removed insurance cover
- His administration offered little in the way of support for those who lost their job or income as a result of restrictions;
- Rather than taking advantage of low case counts in prior months, his government offered an air of triumphalism
- Allowed enormous religious festivals and crowded sporting competitions to go ahead.
- Held mass election rallies cum super-spreader events
The petition concluded by saying: “These unforeseen circumstances have shed light on the unaddressed issues that existed in the Indian society since long and time has come to address them.”
Last week, #ResignModi trended on social media platforms of Facebook and Twitter. Several took to these platforms to hold blame upon the Prime Minister for his incompetence in handling the crisis, and fatalities that are on an exponential rise.