Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday reiterated Tamil Nadu’s demands, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to supply more doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the State, not to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and impose no GST on goods meant to tackle the pandemic.
At a virtual meeting that Mr. Modi chaired to review the pandemic management in six States, Mr. Stalin said the DMK government had eliminated vaccine wastage, which stood at 6% earlier, and created a good deal of awareness of the importance of vaccination. As a result, the demand for vaccines was very high. “However, the allotment is lower than those for other States. I have already requested for a special allocation of one crore doses... I look forward to your support...”
The Chief Minister said the Union government’s additional rice allocation to the priority cardholders had been extended to all rice cards, and this benefit should be extended to all eligible cardholders. In a COVID-19 relief initiative, the State had been distributing ₹4,000 in two instalments and a grocery kit to two crore families.
Resources sought
Mr. Stalin also sought zero GST on all goods needed to tackle the pandemic. “We are making preparations to manage a probable third wave. For that, I appeal to the Union government to allocate more resources to the State. Schools and colleges have already been closed. In the midst of the pandemic, conducting national-level tests like NEET may result in the disease spreading. Hence, I request the Prime Minister to reconsider the conduct of NEET.”
He assured the Prime Minister that Tamil Nadu would take all steps to effectively handle the pandemic and stand firm with him to overcome the challenge.
“Ours is the only major State where a new government faced the tough task of tackling the pandemic. My government met the challenge, reduced the number of deaths and contained the infection,” he said. He also thanked the Union government for increasing the allocation of oxygen and the antiviral drug Remdesivir to Tamil Nadu.
