The Telangana High Court too on April 19 issued a two-day ultimatum to the TRS government to decide on a lockdown or a curfew to contain the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Telangana. Failing which, it said, it will have to issue orders. The Calcutta High Court has also intervened and suggested to work unitedly for meeting the challenge of covid 19.

It was encouraging to witness that when the state governments have virtually abdicated their responsibilities, the High Courts were performing the proactive role to protect the lives of the crores of the Indians.

The opposition to the suggestion of Allahabad high court by the state government is really intriguing. If the state government has really been serious in meeting the challenges of the pandemic it would have initiated correct measures and must not have allowed the situation to deteriorate to this extent. The crematoriums are over flowing with the dead bodies and graveyards are short of spaces.

The Yogi government argued that the high court order would create “immense administrative difficulties”. It is hard to comprehend what could be tougher administrative task than to protect the lives of the thousands of innocent people who are dying of the disease. One of the senior most journalist of Lucknow, Tavishi Srivastava, died for want of proper medical treatment.

To be fair, the High Court had suggested and did not force its authority. It had suggested to the UP government to impose strict restrictions including closing of malls, shopping complexes and restaurants till April 26 in ve cities — Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar and Gorakhpur — but stopped short of calling it a "complete lockdown". It could well have ordered. In this backdrop it would be wrong to say “lockdown in five cities by a judicial order may not be the right approach”.

The Yogi government claims that it has initiated several steps to contain the spread of coronavirus. If that be the case why is it not visible on the ground level? Intervention of the High Court implied that nothing is visible on the ground level. Else, there was reason for it to interfere.

The BJP government argued “the direction given by the high court is “as rigorous as a lockdown”. The chief minister Yogi Adityanath probably forgot the directive of the medical experts that to stop the pandemic from ravaging the human society the only effective panacea was to break the chain and this could be done only be resorting to lock down. It is worth remembering the exhortation of March 24, 2020 of Narendra Modi. He had said lockdown was the only remedy. In this regards High Court’s observation “these are nowhere close to a complete lockdown” is worth appreciation.

The Supreme Court would hear the matter after two weeks. By that time the disease would devour the people. Strange enough while the Yogi government says, “though the intention behind the impugned order passed by the division bench is both laudable and salutary” it also holds that by passing the direction the high court has encroached upon the executive domain. It ought to be mentioned that on several occasion the High Courts and also the Supreme Court in the greater interest of the people of the country have acted on their own. But significantly in this case the Allahabad HC simply made suggestions. Yogi government’s plea that implementation of High Court’s suggestion would have created panic, fear and law and order situation in the state is beyond understanding.

On the contrary Yogi Adityanath owes explanation to the people of the state why his government failed to check the disease from devastating the human society? If Yogi Government had been pro active in combating the disease this situation would not have arisen. There is little doubt that the virus has become multiple times more infectious compared to last year. In September last year, as India’s first wave was peaking, scientists in the UK warned of a mutant 50 times more transmissible implying that the microbe could cause many more deaths if left uncontrolled.

Early this year, evidence began to surface of the more prolific versions of the virus sneaking into India. In January, double mutants, now known as B.1.617, were found in samples collected in Maharashtra, a few weeks before India’s worst-affected state began to report reversals of the gains made last year. By the end of the year, more than 4,000 people in different parts of Europe had been infected by this mutant. It was expected of a welfare government to work out the modalities for imposing the lockdown. But in this case Yogi Government failed. Only last week, Home Minister Amit Shah belatedly admitted the possible role of mutants in the surge. “Scientists are studying it,” he said.

In fact the role of the Election Commission has been deplorable. The political parties in West Bengal have been urging it to club the three remaining phases to protect the people from getting further exposed to the virus. But it is reluctant as it would not help its political bosses. Commission is willing to sacrifice hundreds of innocent people to help the interest of its masters. The same thing has been happening in UP. The poll process for the panchayats could easily be deferred as elections will expose the officials and people to the threat of virus.

It is worth mentioning that last year in the wake of the flight of the labourers a petition was moved before the apex court urging it to direct the government to arrange food, water, shelter to the people. But court refused. Last year nearly 1100 labourers and poor had died while fleeing their working places. The apex court bench headed by CJI had observed that the government was already doing it.

But on May 27 the apex court in a suo motto move talked of lapses in the dealing with the migrant labourers. It observed that government should have arranged food, shelter and security. It obviously implied that the Union government had not furnished the true facts to the court.

It is really intriguing why has the Yogi government been opposed to the intervention of High Court? The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that relatives are entering into deal for cremation. In Varanasi the persons manning the burning ghats offer package to the family members for cremating the bodies. The queue is so long that they will have to wait for at least two day at the ghat to cremate the bodies of their relatives. The attitude and approach of Yogi Government reflects utter lack of sensibility. (IPA Service)