JOIN USPM hints at extending coronavirus lockdown beyond April 14
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hinted at extending the 21-day lockdown beyond April 14 contending that he has received suggestions from several quarters to do so.
Modi told leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha that he would take a final call on extension of the lockdown after consulting chief ministers on April 11.
An overwhelming majority of leaders of 16 political parties who attended the ‘virtual’ meeting convened by the Prime Minister were in favour of extending the lockdown and favoured top priority to saving lives of people.
“The Prime Minister made it clear that lockdown will not be lifted in one go on April 14,” Pinaki Misra, Leader of the Biju Janata Dal in the Lok Sabha said.
“Leaders of most political parties – almost 80% – spoke in favour of extension of the lockdown but left the final call to the Prime Minister,” Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha told reporters here.
Modi described the situation in the country akin to a “social emergency” and said that several tough decisions had to be taken and urged everyone to remain vigilant.
“Several state governments, district administrations and experts have asked for extension of the phase of lockdown,” the Prime Minister told the leaders of political parties.
Modi said despite the resource constraints, India was among the few nations that has been able to control the pace of the spread of the virus till now.
He warned that the situation keeps changing continuously and one has to remain vigilant all the time.
The Prime Minister said that the priority of the government is to save each and every life.
He added that the country is facing serious economic challenges as a result of COVID-19, and that the government was committed to overcome them.
Besides Misra and Azad, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Ram Gopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Satish Misra (Bahujan Samaj Party), Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party), T R Baalu (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), Sukhbir Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal), Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Janata Dal-United), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Trinamool) participated in the meeting.