Coronavirus: PM to interact with chief ministers on Saturday
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers of all states on April 11 to discuss various issues related to the coronavirus outbreak including the lockdown, official sources said on Wednesday.
A number of state governments as well as experts have been requesting the central government to extend the 21-day nationwide coronavirus lockdown that was imposed from March 25.
Sources in the government have said that the Centre is going through the requests from states and experts on extending the lockdown.
This is for the second time the prime minister will interact with the chief ministers via video link after the lockdown was imposed.
During an interaction with floor leaders of various political parties, who have representation in Parliament, on Wednesday, Modi said the situation in the country is akin to a ‘social emergency’ which has necessitated tough decisions.
According to an official statement, he said states, district administrations and experts have suggested extension of the lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
During his April 2 interaction with chief ministers, Modi had pitched for a “staggered” exit from the ongoing lockdown.
Before the lockdown was announced on March 24, the prime minister had interacted with the chief ministers on March 20 to discuss means to check the spread of the deadly virus.
PM disapproves of ‘campaign’ to honour him; says could be attempt to drag him into controversy
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed his disapproval of a reported campaign that people should give him a standing ovation for five minutes, saying it appears to be a mischief to drag him into controversy.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, he said maybe it is someone’s goodwill, “yet I insist that if you really have so much love and want to honour Modi, then take the responsibility of a poor family, at least as long as the coronavirus crisis exists.”
“There can be no greater honour for me than this,” he said.
Modi said it has been brought to his notice that some people are running this campaign to honour him by giving him a standing ovation for five minutes.
“At first sight, it appears to be a mischief to drag Modi in a controversy,” he wrote.
Modi’s tweets were in response to an unsigned message circulating online that asked people to give him a standing ovation for five minutes at 5 pm on Sunday for the work he has been doing for the nation.
