New Delhi: As the number of COVID-19 cases rose above the 5000-mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, April 8, stated during a meeting with the floor leaders of the Opposition and other parties in Parliament, that the lockdown may be extended beyond April 14.
The Prime Minister, according to reports, had called the all-party meeting over video conference to discuss the COVID-19 situation. After the meeting, several leaders stated that the PM had hinted that the nation-wide lockdown cannot be lifted all at once.
It can be recalled that PM Modi had enforced a nation-wide lockdown from March 25 till April 14, in a bid to control the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.
Speaking to PTI, Biju Janata Dal leader Pinaki Misra said that the PM had made it clear during the meeting that the lockdown will not be lifted in one go.
According to NDTV’s report, the government will take a final decision regarding the lockdown after the PM holds a meeting with all the Cheif Ministers on Saturday.
As per reports, the PM said in the meeting that “massive behavioural, social and personal changes will have to take place” and that life will never be the same after the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the participants of the meeting were Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Paty, Satish Misra of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, T R Baalu of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Sukhbir Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Rajiv Ranjan Singh of the Janata Dal-United, Pinaki Mishra of the BJD, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena and Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress were also present.
It can be noted that many Chief Ministers have called for the extension of the lockdown or partial lifting of the restrictions. They have opined that it will be difficult to tackle the global pandemic without a lockdown.
The country, on Wednesday, recorded the biggest jump in the number of deaths in one day, as the official toll reached 149.
(with inputs from PTI)
