Don’t discriminate among children who have lost parents to pandemic, says Panneerselvam

The AIADMK coordinator said income criteria must not be considered in the cases of these children, when it comes to their benefiting from the scheme announced by the TN government

AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam on Monday urged the State government not to discriminate based on income criteria while extending financial assistance to children, who have lost a parent to COVID-19. All children, who have been orphaned or lost one of their parents to the pandemic should be granted assistance, he said in a statement. Flagging what he called certain “discriminatory” provisions in the operational guidelines issued for implementing the scheme, Mr. Panneerselvam contended that some people suspect that such provisions were intended only to reduce the number of beneficiaries under the scheme.