Reaffirming that his government's top priority is to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has been building a political bonhomie in the state by clearing boundaries with the rivals. On Sunday, he has formed an advisory committee consisting of the legislators from the opposition parties to discuss the measures to control the pandemic in the state. 

Stalin's move towards installing the committee has displayed the bid of the current government to address the health crisis collectively, inclusive of all the parties and the Chief Minister has roped in the representatives of all parties elected in the assembly to his ship to jointly coordinate and execute the measures of tackling the human to human transmitting virus. 

A statement from the government over forming the committee has said that the decision to form such a committee was taken during the all-party meeting on May 13 and a resolution to that effect was passed. The committee would meet at regular intervals and frame and discuss the containment efforts and measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. 

In what has become a significant move, Stalin has decided to rope former Health Minister and ADMK leader C Vijayabaskar into the committee. The advisory committee will be headed by Stalin and it consists of Dr N Ezhilan (DMK), C Vijayabaskar (ADMK), AM Munirathnam (Congress), GK Mani (PMK), Nainar Nagendran (BJP), Sadan Thirumalaikumar (MDMK), SS Balaji (VCK), VP Nagai Mali (CPM), Ramachandran (CPI), MH Jawahirullah (MMK), ER Eswaran (KDMK), T Velmurugan (TVK), and Poovai Jaganmoorthy (Purathchi Bharatam) as its members. 

According to reports, the committee is the first-of-its-kind in the state and it has been formed in ten days since Stalin became the Chief Minister. The move has been seen as a crucial precedent of his administration in addressing the horrendous second wave of the pandemic. Ever since he took office, the progress of his government towards addressing the pandemic has been welcomed by the people including some of the ADMK ministers. 

Stalin has signed the government order's of providing COVID-19 relief funds to the major populace of the state and he has deployed his cabinet ministers and his party's legislators to the worst affected districts to carry out relief works. He has directed the health department to set up additional beds to treat the Covid patients and floated a global tender to import 3.5 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines. 

The Chief Minister has also ordered to streamline the supply of the in-demand Remdesivir drug to treat the Covid patients and ordered the police department to slap the Goondas Act on the people who are found to be hoarding and black marketing the drug and oxygen cylinders for higher prices. He also has imposed what is close to the complete lockdown in the state to curb the spread. Most of his government's mechanism is concentrating on battling the pandemic and to ease the financial distress of the people. In line with that, he has now formed an advisory committee with the legislators of the opposition parties to advise the government over the measures to be taken to subdue the virus spread. 

On Sunday, Tamil Nadu has reported 33,181 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise recorded by the state since the outbreak began. The state has also reported 21,317 discharges and 311 deaths. Overall, Tamil Nadu has recorded 15,98,216 COVID-19 cases so far as of Sunday of which 2,19,342 are active, 13,61,204 have been discharged, and 17,670 had succumbed to the viral infection.