As the entire nation is praising Kerala for its effective anti-coronavirus strategies, a controversy has now started to loom up over the communist government led by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The row started when opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged foul play in the contract inked with the US firm 'Sprinkler', and he stated that the crucial coronavirus data of 1.75 lakhs Keralites will be vulnerable.
Ramesh Chennithala's serious allegations
In a recent press conference, Chennithala alleged that the government had not invited a tender to give the deal to Sprinkler, a company that calls itself a leading citizen and customer experience management platform. The opposition leader also claimed that this move from the government to give away data of coronavirus suspect people in the state could result in a privacy breach, and will ultimately benefit private pharmaceutical companies.
After hearing Chennithala's allegations, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan defended the move of the government and made it clear that no fee was involved in the contract with Sprinkler. He also added that the CEO of Sprinkler was an NRI from Kerala. The chief minister also assured that data of coronavirus suspects in the state will be stored in a secured server, and there will be absolutely no data breach.
As media outlets started criticizing the chief minister for this act, the Kerala government, on Monday, decided not to hand over the state's coronavirus data to Sprinkler.
Why Pinarayi Vijayan is maintaining culpable silence?
Pinarayi Vijayan has been conducting evening press briefings every day since the coronavirus outbreak, and people have lauded the chief minister for maintaining such transparency in governance. However, during yesterday's press conference, Vijayan maintained silence when media people asked him about the deal with Sprinkler. Pinarayi Vijayan revealed that more details about this issue will be revealed by the IT ministry, but they too failed to give a convincing explanation, during and post the press conference.
