"It's not possible to lift the lockdown abruptly," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a meeting with the floor leaders of political parties in Parliament in the strongest message yet from the government that the nationwide, three-week lockdown it clamped to fight the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will not be lifted in its entirety when it ends on April 14.
"Nobody is saying that lockdown should be lifted. I will talk again to CMs. But as of now, the mood is that entire lockdown lifting is not possible. For us, lockdown is the only way to save our people," Modi added in the video conference.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to have a video conference with chief ministers on Saturday, his third such meeting with the heads of state governments since India declared the lockdown starting on March 25.
Also read | 'Talking to CMs, none asked me to lift the lockdown': PM Modi at all-party meet
Over the past 72 hours, several chief ministers have called for at least a partial extension of the lockdown; and the group of ministers headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh that is leading India's response to the pandemic has also recommended that even if the lockdown was lifted, the travel bans must remain.
The floor leaders who attended the meeting were Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad and Adhir Chowdhury, DMK's TR Balu, Trinamool's Sudip Bandopadhyay, Samajwadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav, Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut, Lok Jan Shakti Party's Chirag Paswan, CPI (M)'s Elamaram Kareem, Biju Janata Dal's Pinaki Misra, among others.
In his meeting with the floor leaders, Modi also said that while there is tremendous pressure on resources (during this lockdown period), India is one of the few countries where the spread of the coronavirus is still under control. India ended Wednesday with 5,885 infections and 178 deaths.
"I am regularly talking to chief ministers , district magistrates and experts. Nobody is telling me to lift the lockdown. We need strict rules to maintain social distancing."
"India has a social emergency-like situation. In this situation, we have to take unprecedented decisions from time to time. And today, I am grateful to all of you for taking all the decisions in a positive approach, keeping in mind the requirement of the country. In the future too, we may have to take such hard decisions," Modi added.
Also read | 'Not possible to lift lockdown on April 14': PM Modi hints at all-party meeting
Floor leaders present in the meeting raised the issue of the suspension of the MP Local Area Development Scheme for two years, suggested setting up a task force comprising Union ministers and chief ministers, give financial packages to the states, scrap the ₹25,000 crore central vista redevelopment and said that food should also be available to those who do not have Aadhaar or ration cards.
The suspension of the scheme has become politically controversial, with opposition MPs saying that this will prevent aid from reaching those who need it most in their constituencies. Trinamool Congress floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said, "We are ready to forgo our salaries. But the MPs get a very good opportunity to work at the grassroot level through the MPLAD fund."
On Monday, the Union Cabinet suspended the scheme for two years, and said the amount (roughly ~5,900 crore) would be transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India and spent on India's effort to fight Covid-19.
Several floor leaders demanded that the government must pump in money to the states as they are in the forefront of the fight against Covid pandemic. While Bandopadhyay requested Modi to release the dues including those from the GST collection and sought a higher fiscal limit under the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) act, CPIM's Elamaram Kareem demanded an increase in the debt ceiling as a % of states' GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product). Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, called for a special financial package for the most affected states.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar raised the Nizamuddin Markaz issue and insisted that it is not appropriate to blame any community.
DMK leader TR Baalu said the financial measures announced by the central government so far were inadequate and urged Modi to release ₹10,000 in two equal instalments for all the BPL families. The CPIM wanted ₹5,000 distributed in all Jandhan accounts to help the poor.
Azad also suggested that top priority should be accorded to providing adequate personal protection equipment (PPE), ventilators and masks besides insurance cover for doctors, nurses and health workers who are facing acute shortage of such gears.
The Prime Minister also hailed the unprecedented unity that has emerged across the political spectrum over the crisis. "I want to thank the state governments once again. Centre and states are working in tandem keeping in mind the requirements and that is the reason that the states, the Centre and the political parties are working together without any prejudice."
"The Prime Minister told the meeting he is happy that parties have risen above politics and come together in national interest in this hour of crisis and assured that he will try and implement the suggestions put forth by various leaders," Azad said.
Modi said: "Be it the person in lowest or the highest strata of the society, everyone is doing their bit to fight against corona. It's a big thing in this country of 130 crore people. The sense of belonging which the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi used to speak of, today, we can see its deep impact in our daily lives."
We have been trying to take quick decisions and today India is one of the few countries in the world where spread of this virus is still under control. We also have to keep in mind that every day, situations are changing," he said.
"As per our communications with the districts and also the experience of the global situation teaches us that for us, lockdown is the only way for us to save the lives of our citizens."
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