Told PM Narendra Modi to focus on coronavirus, drop new Parliament building plan: DMK T R Baalu

The DMK on Wednesday said it urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting via video link to drop the move to construct a new Parliament building and instead focus on battling COVID-19 and claimed that funds announced by the Centre for tackling the virus was inadequate.

The Dravidian party's senior leader T R Baalu, who represented his party in the video conference said he sought a relief of Rs 10,000 from the central government, in two equal installments, to be provided to all BPL families, besides Rs 5,000 as subsidy to all LPG users. In the meet, Baalu told reporters here that he asked Modi to "drop the (building a new Parliament) move as it was unnecessary at this juncture.

The nation would require huge funds to combat Covid-19 pandemic." Apparently, he indicated that funds (if any, the Centre was mulling to allocate for the new project) could be used for preventing and treating people besides other activities related to fighting the virus.

Baalu who called upon political parties to sink their differences and strive together in containing the virus, questioned the rationale behind the Centre's decision to spend a whopping Rs 25,000 crores, to construct the new Parliament building. Also, he raised the issue of about 300 Tamil Nadu fishermen stranded in Iran and sought appropriate steps to bring them back.

"The Prime Minister noted all the points that I had emphasised," he said. Terming the COVID-19 pandemic as an "emergency health situation" he said, "We are facing an emergency health situation and during this hour of crisis we should work together cutting across party lines to contain the coronavirus." "I had conveyed this to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the video conference today," he said.