Karnataka Deputy CM Narayan, D K Shivakumar join chorus against lockdown

Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and Congress president D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said no to a lockdown amid fears that the B S Yediyurappa administration would look to impose stricter curbs to contain the fresh wave of Covid-19 cases.

The two leaders joined a growing chorus of voices that are dissuading the government from resorting to a lockdown.

“There’s no use in another lockdown. No one is in a position to handle the effects of a lockdown,” Narayan told reporters. “People have suffered enough the past year and they shouldn’t be distressed further,” he said, adding that those coming into Bengaluru should get tested for Covid-19 compulsorily.

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Shivakumar, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, also favoured enforcement of tough rules instead of a lockdown. “A lockdown won’t help anyone. There’s no need for it. Let the government take precautions,” he said, hitting out at the BJP government for doing little to help people financially. “The Centre announced Rs 20 lakh crore and the state government came out with a Rs 1,600 crore package. It didn’t help anybody,” he said.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has clarified that the government was not thinking of a lockdown. He has convened an all-party meeting on April 18 to discuss the next steps with the Opposition Congress and JD(S).

“So far, the government hasn’t listened to us. They did whatever came to their mind. Now that things are going out of hand, they want to talk to us,” Shivakumar mocked.

With Covid-19 cases rising, the state government has imposed a night curfew till April 20 in eight cities, including Bengaluru and Mysuru.

Deputy CM Narayan maintained that there was no shortage of vaccines. He was responding to former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s remark that India faced a shortage as it was exporting vaccines. “Kumaraswamy doesn’t have the right information. There’s no vaccine shortage in the state. All preparations have been made,” he said.