Lockdown 4.0? From Mamata Banerjee to Uddhav Thackeray – Who said what at Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with the CM?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to top ministers via video conference on Monday. (Proceedings)

Meeting Modi with CM, Coronavirus blockade: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hinted that the coronavirus-induced blockade may not end entirely, but the brakes will be further eased. During a video conference that lasted nearly six hours on Monday night, Prime Minister Modi said the country will have to come up with a balanced strategy to revive the economy and tackle the coronavirus. He said he should focus on ensuring that rural areas remain free of the deadly virus. He strongly believed that the necessary measures in the first three phases of the blockade were not necessary in the fourth, and called on states to develop a roadmap by May 15 on how to address various aspects of the gradual reduction of the blockade. .

“We have a double challenge: reduce the rate of disease transmission and gradually increase public activity, while complying with all the guidelines, and we will have to work to achieve both objectives,” he said.

The national blockade came into effect on March 25 and has been extended three times. Closing is scheduled to end on May 17.

The states also presented their views with most of them demanding the withdrawal of the blockade from non-COVID areas, as it negatively impacted the economy and people’s livelihoods. Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that, except in the containment areas, economic activities should be allowed to resume in the national capital.

Punjab Prime Minister Amarinder Singh proposed extending the coronavirus blockade, but demanded a carefully crafted exit strategy that provides fiscal support to the states. He said that decisions on the designation of red, orange and green zones should be left to the states. He said the exit strategy should consider and focus on the fiscal and economic empowerment of states, which are directly responsible for actual action.

While Tamil Nadu Prime Minister K Palaniswami advised the Prime Minister not to resume passenger and flight train services until May 31, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged the Prime Minister to show a specific and concrete address on closing. Thackeray stressed the importance of restrictions on the movement of people from green to red and also sought core forces for the Covid-19 service as many of its own personnel were infected and the force was overloaded with work. Uddhav also sought the resumption of local Mumbai trains for those on essential services.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned that decision to resume train services, saying that on the one hand the government wants strict enforcement of the blockade, on the other hand it is resuming train services. Mamata also directly attacked the Prime Minister at the meeting, saying that the BJP was using the crisis to earn political points. Taking a harsh view of the BJP’s campaign against his government for its handling of the coronavirus, Mamata said the time was not right to devote himself to politics.

Gujarat Prime Minister Vijay Rupani said economic activities cannot be blocked for a long time and that the blockade should be limited to containment areas. He also said that schools and universities should open after the summer break. Gujarat has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country after Maharashtra.

Telangana Prime Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao urged Prime Minister Modi not to resume passenger train services, saying allowing them will lead to the movement of people and pose problems in conducting COVID-19 and quarantine tests. The trains were stopped as part of preventive measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

Himachal Pradesh Prime Minister Jai Ram Thakur favored the extension of the blockade and urged Prime Minister Modi to make alternative arrangements for the state’s apple trade. He said the state expects a good product this year. He said that Dead’s Azadpur Mandi, the largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Asia, is the main place for marketing the state’s apples. But it is closed due to coronavirus cases.

Haryana Prime Minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged the prime minister to authorize states to decide for themselves to resume industrial and economic activities in green, orange and red areas, except for containment. He said that about 14 lakh out of 24 lakh workers committed to approximately 35,000 factories in Haryana have returned to work. He also urged the Center to consider opening schools, colleges and educational institutions that offer professional courses with 50% strength to maintain the rules of social distancing.

Bihar Prime Minister Nitish Kumar was in favor of extending the blockade until the end of May. He said the blockade will help control the situation that has arisen with large-scale returning migrants. He said the state will agree to any decision the Center makes regarding the blockade, but extending it will be useful. Jharkhand Prime Minister Hemant Soren urged the prime minister to increase wages and man-days under the MGNREGA scheme by 50% as it is the main boost to the rural economy with stranded migrant workers returning to the state . It also called on Prime Minister Modi to speed up the transfer of migrant workers to their homes.

Uttar Pradesh Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath said migrant workers coming to the state in large numbers was challenging, but he was dealing with the problem effectively. He also highlighted the measures taken by the government to provide aid to affected people. He favored that the industries located in the green zone and the orange zone function according to the guidelines of the central government.

Madhya Pradesh Prime Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the format of the fourth blockade should be mixed. He said that a total blockade should be imposed on infected areas, while in others relaxation should be given in order to start economic activities.

Karnataka’s Chief Minister, BS Yediyurappa, was in favor of proposing that the district’s wise color codes be removed and instead advocated the strict cordoning off of the containment areas. He said that economic activities should be resumed in independent establishments, while partial relief could be given to shopping malls, movie theaters, dining rooms and establishments.

Rajasthan Prime Minister Ashok Gehlot suggested to Prime Minister Modi to launch an employment guarantee scheme for urban areas on the MGNREGA lines. He said states should have powers to decide coronavirus zones and also demanded a financial package for industries.

The new coronavirus outbreak has negatively affected economic activities. The blockade left thousands of people stranded in different cities due to the suspension of public transport. The virus has infected 70,756 people and killed 2,293.