New Delhi/April 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a video-conference with chief ministers to discuss the situation arising due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, which has been under a lock down since March 25 to contain the spread of the virus, amid indications that the interaction would also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lock down.
Sources said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan skipped the meeting and sent the Chief Secretary to represent the state. The Kerala was represented by the state chief secretary at the national meet of chief ministers called by Prime Minister.This is Modi’s fourth such interaction with state chief ministers since March 22 .Among those present at the virtual meet included Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and top officials from the PMO and Union Health Ministry.The chief ministers who attended the meeting included Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), EK Palaniswami (Tamil Nadu), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Trivender Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand) and Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh).The prime minister was wearing a white ‘gamcha’ with green border. He has been using ‘gamcha’ to cover his face during such meets.
In a tweet on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Modi and the chief ministers will be discussing aspects relating to the COVID-19 situation.In his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address on Sunday, the prime minister said the country is in the middle of a ‘yudh’ (war) and asserted that people have to continue being careful and take precautions.His note of caution came amidst gradual exemptions being granted by the Centre and states to revive economic activities.”I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard,” Modi said while referring to a popular Hindi idiom ‘Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati’ (disaster strikes when you lower your guard).The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual exemptions to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to people as some states want further relaxation in areas which have seen few or no coronavirus cases.
