Rs 850 Left. Kerala Beedi Worker Donates Savings for COVID Care

Janardhanan donated Rs 2 lakh towards CMDRF to support Vaccine Challenge of CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

Janardhanan donated Rs 2 lakh towards CMDRF.

Image Credits: Arnica Kala

The last week of April, Janardhanan, a beedi worker who hails from Kannur district in Kerala, donated all his life savings – Rs 2 lakh – towards Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). The donation was made to help the state vaccinate people for free.

In April Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan had announced a ‘Vaccine Challenge’ to invite donations to aid the state’s vaccination drive. Kerala government has promised to vaccinate all people in the state free of cost.

Speaking about the decision he said, “On this earth, there is a deadly virus which is spreading. The virus does not differentiate between the CM, political parties and religious groups. It does not differentiate between the rich and the poor. There is no need for taking sides between the CM (Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI(M)), the BJP or the Congress. It’s a crisis which has befallen humankind. Think about it that way”.

A staunch communist Janardhanan says his decision to donate was also ideological.

I always wanted to do something for the party. Now I got a chance to do it. But even then, I am only 50 per cent Communist because I believe that one becomes 100 per cent Communist only if one gives his life for the party. That is the lesson that I learnt from Che Guevara, Soviet Union soldiers and Chinese revolutionaries. 

Janardhanan

But there is also a humanist in him. “We are in a crisis where people are dying, gasping for breath. At this time what is the point of hoarding money? When will that money be of use? I thought about it and realised that I hadn’t done anything to help. So, I tried to help by doing what I can for the society. Just think of me as a humanitarian,” he said.