Modi: Sorry for harsh steps, lockdown is for protection

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the nation on his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat on Sunday (March 29), apologised for the “harsh decision” of enforcing a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.

‘I hope my country’s people will forgive me for my sudden decision. I apologise for all the discomfort that you are facing, but this is the only step that we could have taken to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country. I apologise for taking these harsh steps which have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the poor people. I know some of you must be angry with me. But these tough measures were needed to win this battle,” he said.

The prime minister’s talk comes in the backdrop of a 21-day lockdown which in turn has triggered a mass exodus of migrant labourers from cities. Numerous incidents of migrant workers who had to resort to travelling in container lorries, trucks, or by foot for hundreds of kilometres to return home, have been reported from across the country, since no passenger trains or government or private buses are running due to the lockdown.

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These migrants have been returning home in large groups due to unavailability of daily wage labour, and consequently, the lack of means to survive.

Modi also said that with a situation in the country, he could not talk about anything else on his programme. “I usually talk about several things during my Mann ki Baat programme, but with such a situation prevailing in the country, I cannot talk about anything else,” he said.

The Prime Minister in course of the half-an-hour long talk, also interacted with individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 and their families.

While interacting with Ramgampa Teja, an IT professional, on his battle with the virus, the prime minister urged him to make an audio clip of his experiences and share it on social media. 

He went on to talk about social distancing and suggested that people should not reduce social interaction in the name of social distancing. “Social distancing is the first step to fight coronavirus, but it doesn’t mean that we reduce social interaction,” Modi asserted.