PM has decided to extend lockdown, tweets Kejriwal; Centre sends a clarification

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a decision to extend the nationwide lockdown and added that he backed the prime minister’s call since the lockdown measure had helped India manage the disease much better than many other developed nations.

Kejriwal’s tweet came after the prime minister discussed the possibility of extending the lockdown with chief ministers of all states and the Union territories on Saturday.

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“PM has taken the 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,” Kejriwal tweeted in support of the lockdown.

It has been reported that several chief ministers requested the prime minister to extend the 21-day national lockdown so that the gains from the implementation of the measure are not lost after the restrictions are lifted.

Soon after Kejriwal’s tweet, the Principal Spokesperson for the government of India and the Principal Director General of Press Information Bureau of the Central government said the prime minister was considering the request made by the chief ministers in favour of the extension.

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“During the video-conferencing on #coronavirusinindia with state CMs today, most states requested PM @narendramodi to extend the lockdown for 2 more weeks. The Central Government is considering this request,” he said.

WHO has also warned governments to not lift the restrictions too soon, fearing it could lead into a late spike in the number of coronavirus cases. Prime Minister’s meeting with chief ministers on Saturday was meant to get a sense of the situation before a considered decision could be taken on the matter of lifting the lockdown.

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In the last meeting with leaders of legislative parties, PM Modi had himself said that lifting the lockdown which was imposed on March 25, did not look possible at the moment.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is one of the CMs apart from Kejriwal to have suggested an extension of the national lockdown. A couple of states like Odisha and Punjab have already announced the decision to extend the lockdown till the end of April.

While it is widely anticipated that the lockdown may be extended beyond April 14, there have been suggestions to ease restrictions in certain pockets of the country to allow for a resumption of economic activity.