Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 26 (IANS): Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday took to Twitter and appealed to the Prime Minister to divert the Rs 20,000 crore earmarked for new Parliament building and Central Vista to supplement the Rs 15,000 crore allotted to fight COVID-19.

"This is merely Rs 20 crore per district. Grand spending on buildings at this time of crisis is a postponable luxury," tweeted Tharoor.

Tharoor, who is currently based in the national capital, also took to Facebook on the issue. He advised his fellow lawmakers that there is a huge shortage of full body Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits, N-95 masks, face shields, three-layer masks and medical goggles, infrared non-contact thermometers and others which will prevent the community spread.

"To buy these we can divert our development funds. Am sure many of our legislators in Kerala are doing that, and if it can be stepped up, it will be of huge benefit," wrote Tharoor on Facebook.