Chennai: DMK president and Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin today urged Tamilnadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami not to delay the decision on extending the lockdown beyond 14 April to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, he said enough time should be given to the people to enable them to mentally prepare themselves by announcing well in advance on further extending the lockdown.
Pointing out to the lockdown extensions in Odisha and Punjab, he said several States have also expressed similar views during the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video-conferencing.
Noting that the country and the State are going through a testing time, he said every second is a golden period and if the government did not use it appropriately, it would be subjected to curse of history.
Referring to the increase in the number of positive cases with every passing day, he said fear has gripped the people that the virus would progress into Stage-3 (community transmission).
He said there were ‘contradictory’ reports by the Centre and the State on community transmission and urged the Tamilnadu government to take all steps to prevent it from progressing to the next stage.
Assuring DMK’s full support to the government’s efforts in tackling the spread of corona in the state, Stalin said it was the duty of the government to sustain the livelihood of the majority of the people affected by the lockdown.
He also said the government should at least provide a special assistance of Rs 5,000, besides, rice, dhal, edible oil and other essential items free of cost, besides ensuring free provision of masks and sanitizers to the people to prevent the spread of Covid-19.