A day after categorically stating that all expatriates returning to the state will have to bear the expenses of institutional quarantine, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the poor people among the returnees need not worry about it.
Addressing media, the chief minister said the government's stance on charging quarantine fee had caused some misunderstanding.
"The government's stance is that the expenses of institutional quarantine should be charged from those who can afford it. The poor need not worry," Vijayan said. The chief minister said the issue was raised at the all-party meeting held earlier in the day also. He said an order on this will be publicised later.
Vijayan's clarification is exactly the opposite of what he had announced the previous day. To a specific question that whether the poor among the returnees will also have to pay for the quarantine, his reply was that "the poor will also have to pay. They are coming by flight."
The chief minister said his earlier statement that the government would bear all the expenses of those who return meant only the expenses of their tests and treatment.
The decision to charge the expenses of institutional quarantine had drawn strong criticism from the Congress-led opposition which termed it 'inhumane'.
"Today's Kerala is a result of hardwork of the expatriates too. It's inhumane to steal from those who return from abroad after losing everything during this crisis," Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said in a Facebook post.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy echoed the same views on Wednesday. He termed the decision 'inhumane' and 'an insult' to the state. He said many of the returnees are unable to bear the expenses of the quarantine.
Shashi Tharoor MP said the decision was a betrayal of the Kerala healthcare model. "Expecting our returning pravasis, many of whom have lost their jobs, to pay for their quarantine is not only sad but a betrayal of the Kerala healthcare model whose success the govt has been basking in," he wrote on Twitter.
Congress leader V D Satheesan went a step ahead and said as an MLA he was ready to bear the expenses of institutional quarantine of the returnees in his Paravur assembly constitution. "The government should withdraw the decision immediately. They have been forced to return. The returnees are those who went abroad on visiting visas and failed to find a job, those who lost their jobs, patients and family members of those who had to ace salary cuts. Of them, those who are able to afford paid quarantine will opt for that," he said.
'Paid quarantine' is quarantine facility arranged in expensive hotels. V T Balram MLA attacked the government using statistics. "So ar only nearly 11,000 expatriates have returned. More than half of them have gone for home quarantine. Those who can afford paid quarantine have opted the facilities in hotels and resorts. Only the poor people who can't afford these have chosen the quarantine facility arranged by the government. They are dumped in hostels of schools and colleges. The government is mercilessly washing their hands of the responsibility of these people who had to depend on others even for their flight tickets," he said.
Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty was also among the leaders who have slammed the government move.
The government had earlier announced that it was ready to welcome any number of people returning to the state and bear their expenses during quarantine. Kerala has seen a surge in the number of COVID cases following the influx of people returning from abroad and other states.
