While the nation waits for the decision of the central govt on the lockdown to be announced, Delhi Chief Minister tried to preempt the same by saying that the lockdown has been extended. Today the prime minister had a detailed meeting with all the chief ministers of the country to discuss whether to extend or lift the 21-day lockdown which is coming to an end on 14th April. Prime minister Modi is expected to make an announcement on the same before 14th after more rounds of discussions with other stakeholders.
It is reported that several states have requested for extension of the lockdown as the number of new Coronavirus cases is rising in many places. Delhi government has also asked for an extension of the lockdown, after it saw an explosion in Covid-19 numbers, mostly due to the Tablighi Jamaat meet March.
PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India’s position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is imp to extend it
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 11, 2020
Although the central govt or the PM has not made any official announcement, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal posted a tweet suggesting the lockdown has been extended. He wrote, “PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India’s position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is important to extend it.”
According to some media reports, several states have asked for a two-week extension of the lockdown, and that demand may be accepted by the central govt. On the other have some other states are preferring a less restrictive lockdown after 14th April, as it has started impacting the livelihood of people and the economy as a whole.
While the lockdown may actually be extended as the Coronavirus spread continues in several states, the final decision will be taken by the central govt, and most likely the announcement will be made by the Prime Minister himself, as he had announced the lockdown and the one-day Janata Curfew earlier. For the Delhi CM to ‘leak’ the decision of the meeting is being seen as immature, as the PM’s meeting with CMs is supposed to be confidential.
