The opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the people on the extension of the national lockdown lacked any announcements that would bring 'relief' to them on the economic front.
NDA constituent DMK welcomed the extension of the lockdown, saying it was 'inevitable.' DMK President MK Stalin said there were many questions in the minds of people and asked the Prime Minister "when are you going to make an address which will provide relief" to people with such queries.
Responding to Modi's announcement on the extension of the lockdown till May 3 as part of India's fight against COVID19, Stalin, however, said there was no other option other than such a prohibitory order as all the affected persons have not been able to be traced while not all the infected could be quarantined. The PM's address on Tuesday has turned out to be an awareness with his seven-point advice to the people, he said.
"At the same time, people of the country don't expect just advice from him (but) relief assistance that would enable their survival, help in kind and cash," Stalin said in a statement. "No such announcements were there in the PM's addresses so far, and not today as well," the state Leader of Opposition said.
Meanwhile, slamming Prime Minister for not announcing any additional financial package to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said it was not just praise which states wanted, but assistance to tide over the difficult situation.
He told media that banks were charging heavy interest from states during the present crisis and the states expected financial assistance from the centre and not just praise.
Many in the country made a living on a daily basis and the lockdown had severely impacted them. Referring to Congress leader P Chidambaram's statement that remonetising the poor would cost only Rs 65,000 crore, Stalin also asked why the Centre could not see the logic in this.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also questioned Prime Minister's assertion that the country had begun screening people coming from abroad long before even a single corona-positive case was found in the country.
In a tweet in Hindi on Tuesday, Akhilesh Yadav said, "It was claimed that the screening started at different airports when there was not even a single corona case in the country. But the question then is how much serious and meaningful it proved. If it is true, then it should be told how the country got its first corona case," said the Samajwadi party president.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal supported the PM's decision and said, "The PM has taken a correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India's position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is important to extend it."
Criticising the PM's address, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi said that Prime Minister once again ignored the plight of the vast majority of Indians. "Today, Wazeer e Azam has again ignored the plight of the vast majority of Indians who have been thrown into a state of hunger, homelessness and inconceivable desperation," the Hyderabad MP tweeted. He said the Prime Minister had left these people to the charity and goodwill of the rich. A lockdown without thinking about the hungry and deprived is the cruelty of the highest form, he added.
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