Coronavirus in India-PM Narendra Modi asks forgiveness from poor over lockdown

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought the nation’s poor for forgiveness, as the economic crisis and human toll increased in the country from his 21-day nationwide lockdown.

He asked for forgiveness as he faced criticism over the lack of proper planning before the decision.

Narendra Modi said in his monthly address on Sunday through state radio, “I apologize for taking these harsh steps that have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the poor people,”

“I know some of you will be angry with me. But these tough measures were needed to win this battle.”

Note that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day lockdown in the country to lower the spread off Covid-19.

However, his decision has created a crisis for Indian poor-leaving several hungry and jobless laborers to go to their native villages.

He asked the people to understand that there was no other option.
The poor “would definitely be thinking what kind of prime minister is this, who has put us into so much trouble,”

“Steps were taken so far … will give India victory over the corona,”

Note that there are 979 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India whereas 25 people have lost their lives due to Covid-19.

The Indian government had announced a $22.6bn economic stimulus plan on Thursday to poor through direct cash transfer and food handouts. A quarter of 1.3 billion people in India live below the poverty line.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo – two of the three winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019, said in an opinion piece published on Sunday that even more aid is necessary.

They wrote, “Without that, the demand crisis will snowball into an economic avalanche, and people will have no choice but to defy orders,”