CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami on Saturday told DMK President M K Stalin that the state took an early lead in tackling the spread of Covid-19 and slammed the opposition leader for indulging in "opportunistic politics" on the issue.Responding to Stalin's letter to him, Palaniswami in a statement detailed the various steps taken by his government in connection with fighting the spread of coronavirus as well as reaching out to the people during the ongoing lockdown.Stalin had earlier urged the government to take a cue from Punjab and Odisha and extend the lockdown enforced in the state to stem the spread of coronavirus till April-end, besides seeking cash assistance to people affected from the lockdown.Though isolation was a key precautionary measure, many states had urged the Centre to extend the lockdown, Stalin had pointed out."The Chief Ministers of Odisha (Naveen Patnaik) and Punjab (Amarinder Singh) have extended the lockdown till April 30 and May 1, respectively. Therefore, a due decision on this in Tamil Nadu should be taken without further delay," Stalin, Leader of the Opposition in the state, said in the letter.He said the lockdown will affect the livelihood of the poor, farmers, labourers and small time traders and urged the government to ensure they did not suffer during this period.The DMK leader demanded for a cash assistance of Rs 5,000, besides provision of essentials like rice and pulses to people.He said the lack of rapid test kits combined with incomplete assessment of the damage caused by the virus had put the people on the edge.Stalin recalled that the DMK had been warning the government for long on the pandemic."But we did not wake up when Kerala was affected and did not show due attention when other states were doing that, and are now facing a severe crisis," he said.He also wondered why the state government was not convening an all-party meet like Prime Minister Narendra Modi had done to discuss the matter.The pandemic was not a mere health or medical issue, but a future social, economic, environment and political one.Stalin also took exception to the state government's decision to utilise Rs one crore from legislators' local funds towards fighting Covid-19, saying the monies were being used by them only for "public welfare.""It is the MLAs' moral right. It is not fair on the part of the state government to snatch away that right," he told the chief minister.Among others, Stalin sought incentives for health professionals and field staff such as police since they were actively involved in the fight against coronavirus.While there were apprehensions of Tamil Nadu slipping into the third stage of the pandemic, the government should ensure it doesn't happen, he said.In the event of the state entering the third stage, the government must be prepared to face it.Hitting out at Stalin, Palaniswami said much before other states, Tamil Nadu sealed the borders and intensified screening of passengers at airports in the state."Soon after the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan in China, this visionary government had in January placed orders for protection equipment, screening tools and medicines," the chief minister said in the statement.In various containment zones, 33,000 personnel had surveyed about 59 lakh people, even as the health infrastructure had been strengthened with the addition of isolation wards with 32,371 beds and 3371 ventilators on standby, he said."For future planning, one lakh beds have been identified in 5,713 isolation facilities in both public and private buildings," even as personal protection equipment and masks were available in sufficient number.More health professionals have been appointed, including as temporary staff even as the government has announced one month's additional pay for such workers.Other cash incentives have also been announced for them.Special teams led by senior IAS officials were effectively serving the people during the lockdown period, he said.He recalled the government's Rs 3,280 crore RPT Rs 3280 crore package to protect people's livelihood, including provision of cash assistance to specific sections besides ensuring food to the poor through government's Amma Canteens during the lockdown.On Stalin's criticism of government's decision to use Rs one crore from the MLAs' funds, he said these funds were also directed towards public welfare only ie, to fight the spread of Covid-19."Rather than welcoming it, (DMK's) critism shows their double standards," he said.He said Stalin was attempting to paint a picture that the government was doing nothing and levelling "baseless allegations" in the name of giving suggestions."This shows his opportunistic politics,"Palaniswami said.His criticism amounted to "demeaning" the various "selfless" personnel involved in the battle against Covid-19, Palaniswami added.