Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to speak on what to expect once the third phase of lockdown expires on May 17.
PM Modi Address to Nation: A day after holding a marathon six-hour meeting with chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation today at 8 pm. The prime minister is likely to speak on what to expect once the third phase of lockdown expires on May 17.
At Monday’s meeting, several states including Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana and West Bengal wanted the lockdown extended further. While others wanted further easing of restrictions and more say in which districts fall under red, orange and green zones.
Some states, including Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Andhra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, had reservations on allowing inter-state transport, be it rail or air, and wanted to be consulted before a decision is taken. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in fact, said starting rail services “was a mistake” and that his opinion should have been taken since he was a “former Railways Minister”.
At the end of the meeting, PM Modi asked chief ministers to share a broad strategy on how they would want to deal with the lockdown regime in their particular states by May 15. “I want states to make a blue print on how to deal with various nuances during and after the gradual easing of the lockdown,” he told them.
PM Modi first addressed the nation over India’s coronavirus preparedness in March. On March 22, he proposed a janata curfew for a day.
On March 24, PM Modi had announced the 21-day nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the virus. In a video message on April 3, Modi had urged people to switch off the lights at their homes and light lamps, candles or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5 to display the country’s “collective resolve” to defeat the coronavirus. He spoke again on April 14 to extend the lockdown till May 3. However, the lockdown was further extended to May 17.