JOIN USBihar govt imposes Covid-19 lockdown till May 15
Close on the heels of Patna High Court rebuke, the Nitish Kumar regime on Tuesday imposed a complete lockdown in Bihar till May 15 to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The decision was taken after the High Court asked the Bihar Government to inform it (the court) whether the Nitish regime was going to impose lockdown or not, “or else we will have to pass an appropriate order.”
Announcing the decision through social media, Nitish said that he held discussions with all his ministers and officials concerned and decided to impose lockdown till May 15. “The Crisis Management Group (CMG) has been instructed to issue the necessary Covid-19 guidelines,” Nitish said in his tweet in Hindi.
The decision to impose lockdown was all the more necessary as there was no respite from Covid-19 pandemic with 11,407 fresh coronavirus cases reported in the State, besides 82 deaths, in the last 24 hours.
Earlier, the Patna High Court had reprimanded the Nitish regime for its inept handling of the coronavirus crisis. “Everything is an eyewash....There is no action plan with you. Whatever plan you have submitted, it’s not up to the mark and no effective steps have been taken since April 15 when we started hearing the PILs on the pandemic,” observed the division bench of HC comprising Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Mohit Kumar Shah.
The court then asked the Advocate General Lalit Kishore that either the Bihar Government ordered lockdown, or else, it (HC) will have to pass an appropriate order.
Meanwhile, the Opposition RJD and the Congress have hailed the lockdown decision. “We have been demanding complete lockdown since long. But Chote Saheb (in an oblique reference to Nitish) was waiting for orders from Bade Saheb (Narendra Modi),” Tejashwi took a jibe at the Bihar CM, while extending his support for the lockdown.
However, the NDA ally Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM (Hindustan Awam Morcha) opposed the lockdown move. “Those who won’t die of coronavirus, will eventually die of hunger, poverty and joblessness,” said HAM spokesperson Danish Rizwan.