New Delhi, March 23: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wrote to the Centre on Monday, seeking relaxation in rules to make "certain critical purchases from MPLAD funds" amid the coronavirus outbreak. The current set of rules, Tharoor said, bar the purchase of movable items with the cost also exceeding the set limit. In his letter, Tharoor appealed the Union Minister of State (MoS) Rao Inderjeet Singh to approve his request at the earliest. Catch all the live updates on coronavirus outbreak in India and other parts of the world.

Tharoor intends to buy, using the MPLAD funds, additional PPE kits for the medical practitioners who are at the forefront of combating coronavirus outbreak in his home constituency of Thiruvananthapuram. The Congress lawmaker also intends to purchase more N95 masks for the general populace, apart from making expenditure towards improving COVID-19 screening and testing facilities.

Shashi Tharoor Tweets Copy of Letter

Kerala emerged as worst-affected state due to coronavirus outbreak as 28 more cases were confirmed on Monday. The overall toll in the state has climbed to 95. Maharashtra, the second worst affected state, has confirmed 67 cases so far. Nationwide, the number of coronavirus cases have climbed to 433.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2020 06:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).