Thiruvananthapuram, March 27, 2020-
Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is passing through one of his toughest times, as the swarming crowds that collect around him — he says they are his biggest source of energy — have been missing following the lockdown.
Asked if he has developed “withdrawal symptoms”, he told, “Things are tough for me. In my life I have not encountered such a situation.
“I am now stuck here, and have not been to my constituency for the past 12 days. Many have warned me not to hang around, but I feel restless. This is something which I never ever thought would happen. What to do now, as we are duty-bound also to adhere to laws for our own safety and of others.
“I am on phone all the time as people find it difficult to reach my house due to the curbs. I have also told people not to venture out and I am always available on phone, for the needs of people.”
There was a scare when yesterday, a local Congress leader from Idukki tested positive for coronavirus.
He had met Chandy earlier this month. The former Chief Minister said there was now no need for worry.
When asked if the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s action plan to fight Covid-19 was in the right direction, he said while this was not the time for fault-finding, the state government could have introduced stringent measures at four Kerala airports after the first cases surfaced in the country and the situation turned worse in China, Europe and the US.
“If it was strongly enforced, I feel, we could have contained the spread. They are slow to react,” said Chandy.
Come October he will write himself into the record books by becoming only the second politician in Kerala to complete five decades as a legislator.
He has won every election from his political pocket borough of Puthupally in Kottayam since 1970 — when he first won as a Youth Congress leader as a 26-year-old. (Agency)
