Hours after his death was announced, people from across all walks of life have been expressing their condolences for H Vasanthakumar, the Member of Parliament from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. A short video of Vasanthakumar speaking on the floor of the Parliament is going viral on social media since the news of his death broke. The MP, who died of COVID-19 on Friday, can be heard asking the government to declare coronavirus as a national disaster but he is not allowed to complete his speech.
The video from Lok Sabha TV was recorded on March 20, when COVID-19 was in its nascent stage in India. “I urge upon the government to declare coronavirus as a national disaster...due to coronavirus affecting the whole nation,” he said.
In the rest of his speech, the MP can be heard trying his best to highlight the practical problems that small businesses in the country would face during the pandemic and urged the centre to act immediately to prevent the blow on these small businessmen.
“A zero revenue situation will definitely impact the repayment of loans. I urge the government to reschedule the loan payment of small businessmen and individuals at least for three months,” he said adding that GST should be waived off for all the sectors till the disaster is over.
Vasanthakumar also mentioned that daily wagers across the nation were the worst affected due to the pandemic and urged the government to provide them compensation to tide over the crisis.
Though he was a two-time Congress MLA and a sitting MP, people of Tamil Nadu remember him more as the smiling face from the advertisements of his enterprise Vasanth & Co, the state's biggest dealers in appliances and electronic goods. In his final speech in Parliament too, he is heard voicing concern for people and businesses. He is however not allowed to complete his speech, Speaker Om Birla, moves on the next MP smilingly.
On 20th March Kanyakumari MP #Vasanthakumar ji in his Lok Sabha speech kept demand of declaring #COVIDー19 as "National Disaster"..
— Niraj Bhatia (@bhatia_niraj23) August 28, 2020
He spoke also for direct benifit transfers to daily wagers & to help small businesses ..
He was interrupted with laugh within few secs..
RIP sir pic.twitter.com/L5ezM2b6l4
H Vasanthakumar (70) passed away due to COVID-19 in a private hospital in Chennai on Friday. He was admitted to the hospital a few weeks ago after he tested positive for coronavirus. He had been elected from Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 from the Congress party after defeating senior BJP leader and former union minister Pon Radhakrishnan. Previously he was the MLA representing Nanguneri Assembly constituency in 2006 and in 2016 and had to resign his post in 2019 to contest in Lok Sabha polls. He is also the brother of veteran Congress leader Kumari Anandhan and Telangana Governor and senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan’s uncle.