Hundreds of Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadre staged demonstrations across Virudhunagar district on Tuesday, pressing the government to pay ₹7,500 as financial assistance to every family to overcome the adverse impact of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The protest was held in 70 places in the district.
After participating in a demonstration in Rajapalayam, the party’s Virudhunagar district secretary, K. Arjunan, said that the CPI(M) wanted the State government to give the relief of ₹7,500 to every family that was not paying income tax. Besides, each member of every poor family should be given 10 kg of food grains to help mitigate their sufferings due to job losses, he said.
Their other major demand was that the government should increase the number of days of employment given under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme from 100 days to 200 days to help the rural masses.
“We demand that efforts should be taken to ensure uninterrupted supply of yarn to keep the handlooms running,” Mr. Arjunan said.
The party also wanted the provision of loans to all traders and small-scale industries to revive their business.
