DMK President and Opposition leader of Tamil Nadu Assembly MK Stalin has been pressing the state government on convening the all-party meeting concerning the Coronavirus outbreak in the state. As the ruling party declined his request, the opposition party has been prepared to host the all-party meeting on Thursday amid the lockdown and restrictions.

According to the reports, DMK had initially planned to host the all-party meeting at the party's headquarters in Chennai on April 15th. However, the city police department has denied permission to organize the meeting as the state has been imposed with complete lockdown and restrictions. 

அனைத்துக் கட்சி கூட்டம் பாதுகாப்பு விதிகளுடன் நடைபெறும் என திமுக உறுதியளித்தும், தலைமைச் செயலகத்தில் பல்வேறு கூட்டங்கள் நடத்திய அதிமுக அரசு காவல்துறை மூலமாக அனுமதி மறுத்துள்ளது.

நாளை நடைபெறவிருந்த அதே கூட்டம் ஏப்ரல் 16 அன்று காலை 11 மணிக்கு காணொலிக் காட்சி மூலம் நடக்கும். pic.twitter.com/F58S21QhUV

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 14, 2020

In the statement issued on Tuesday, Stalin said that the police had denied permission despite the party assured that the meeting would be conducted with accord to the regulations, guidelines, and social distancing would be maintained. He further stated that the all-party meeting has been scheduled on Thursday - April 16th, 2020 at 11 am and it will be held through video-conferencing.    

He added that Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has been convening direct meetings with the ministers, officials, and medical experts in the state secretariat and the ruling government has declined permission to DMK through the police department.

The state government has recently extended the statewide lockdown till April 30th to curb the spread of the virus and the bans and restrictions on the movements of people and vehicles, public gatherings, and non-essential services have bee suspended as part of the preventive measure. As of Tuesday evening, the state has reported 1,204 positive cases of which 1,111 are active patients while 81 people have been recovered and discharged and twelve have succumbed to the virus. Most of the positive cases include both Indian and foreign nationals.