Lockdown expected to extend by 2 weeks, announcement awaited.

Utkarsh Upadhyay

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a video conference with chief ministers primarily to take their feedback on whether the 21-nation-wide lockdown be extended beyond April 14 to stem the tide of the infections.

The ongoing lockdown will end on April 14, if it is extended for 2 weeks, it will run till April 30.

12 state governments with a population of around 70 crores in favor of increasing lockdown, lockdown in states like Maharashtra , West Bengal, Punjab and Odisha extended till April 30.

The government is going to extend the lockdown for two weeks across the country. Just a formal announcement is awaited. The indications came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with chief ministers on Saturday for nearly four hours. However, when the announcement to increase the lockdown is not clear yet.

12 state governments want to increase the lockdown. The Congress government of Punjab and the BJD government of Odisha have already decided to extend the lockdown till April 30. Other states have also suggested the Modi government to extend the lockdown for at least two weeks. Similar views emerged when the Prime Minister held a third meeting in 21 days on Saturday through video conferencing with the Chief Ministers. At least 10 Chief Ministers asked the Prime Minister to increase the lockdown. In this meeting, Modi was seen wearing a mask like a mask. Earlier on 20 March and 2 April Modi also discussed video conferencing with the Chief Ministers.

The Prime Minister said – If there is life, there is a world In the meeting, the Prime Minister told the Chief Ministers – “I am available on the phone for twenty-four hours, seven days. Any Chief Minister can suggest me at any time. “He said,” Jaan hai to jahan hai. When I sent a message to the nation, it was initially emphasized that lockdown and social distancing are very important to save the life of every citizen. Most of the people of the country understood the matter and lived in their homes. Now for the bright future of India, it is necessary to pay attention to both aspects of life, the world too, for a prosperous and healthy India. Our fight against Corona will become stronger when each person of the country will fulfill his responsibilities, taking care of both life and the world, and follow the guidelines of the government and the administration. ”

Kejriwal claims – PM has decided to increase lockdown; Modi said to the Chief Ministers – both life and the world are important. After Kejriwal’s tweet, media reports said that the Prime Minister himself would announce this by addressing the country, but government sources made it clear in a short time that on Saturday night, Modi would not have an address to the nation.