BJP asks MK Stalin why can't COVID relief aid be directly credited to bank accounts?

Tamil Nadu BJP leader and Mahila Morcha National President Vanathis Srinivasan on Saturday tweeted criticising the government's decision to provide Rs 2000 as relief aid to families by asking them to collect the same from rations shops instead of depositing the cash directly to their bank accounts. She questioned the logic behind making lakhs of people queue up to receive something that can be directly credited to their bank account.

The BJP MLA tagged MK Stalin and CMO in her post and said providing the relief amount through ration shops in the height of COVID second wave will only further increase the spread of the infection.

Notably, since the announcement, heavy queues have been witnessed outside ration shops in some parts of the state as locals lined up discarding social distancing to avail the cash benefit.

DMK to wait until Karunanidhi's birthday to roll out free rations?

DMK, in its fight against COVID-19 has so far earned praise from several national leaders for its efforts since it came to power after the recently concluded elections on May 2. But another prominent critic of the administration and a BJP spokesperson recently pointed out that the Sun TV group owned by a relative of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin contributed Rs 30 crore to CM's COVID fund, as did the DMK trust - which donated Rs 1 crore, actor DMK MLA and Stalin son's Udhayanidhi also contributed 50 lakhs to the fund. While he praised the initiative, he claimed that this contribution would not have been possible if DMK did not come to power. 

BJP spokesperson SG Suryah also alleged that it was absurd that the DMK was waiting for Karunanidhi's birthday to amplify its efforts against COVID-19 in the State. He referred to the free rations will only be provided to people started from June 3.

However, netizens were quick to point out that DMK had previously also extended help stating that the party had donated 1 crore to CM fund last year and asked all of its MLAs and MPs to donate one month's salary to the PM and CM funds to aid in COVID fight.

COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu recorded 31,892 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing the total to 15,31,377 while 288 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours.

New stringent measures announced

Tamil Nadu Government issued newer and more stringent restrictions to adhere to in the state following an all-party meeting that concluded yesterday. Some of the highlights from the order were:

• Mandatory E-pass for inter-state, intra-state and travel between districts
• Operation of grocery shops and vegetable markets between 6 am-10 am
• E-commerce companies can function between 2 pm-6 pm