Coronavirus lockdown: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown at the end of March
New Delhi:
Interior Minister Amit Shah met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, one day after speaking to various chief ministers and asking for comments on the way forward regarding the coronavirus lockdown, which is due to end on Sunday.
Sources said PM Modi and Amit Shah had discussions on a shutdown strategy and assessed how to restart economic activity in the face of a steady increase in virus cases.
Amit Shah had asked the chief ministers last night for comments on the lockdown and their opinion on whether to extend it after May 31.
All the chief ministers have given their opinion on how they want to move forward. In the past few days, the Prime Minister’s Office has reviewed the entire lock-in period to decide what to do starting June 1.
Goa’s chief minister, Pramod Sawant, after speaking with Shah, has claimed the possibility of extending the lockout for two weeks.
The government is concerned about the sharp criticism of its strategy against the coronavirus, which has led it to change its position on several occasions.
Interior ministry sources said the path to the foreclosure “would be a political call”.
Government options include pursuing the National Disaster Management Law, which empowers the Center to make all health-related decisions, which is the responsibility of the state. Or it can allow states to have a final call on how they wish to proceed.
When the imprisonment was last extended in mid-May, the government had authorized broad easing, leaving it to states to decide what to reopen and what remained closed.
Before the announcement of the foreclosure4, PM Modi had discussions with the chief ministers during a virtual meeting.
