Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the novel COVID-19 coronavirus and appealed to Indians to follow social distancing, observe ‘Janata Curfew’ and announces the setting up COVID-19 Economic Task Force under the leadership of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In his address, Narendra Modi began by acknowledging the support of fellow citizens in times of crisis. He called the current situation as another crisis ahead of the nation and assured that with determination India will overcome this. However, he also said that India cannot be complacent and should treat the situation with priority.
Resolve and Restraint
He claimed that the Government of India is keeping a close eye on the trends shown by other countries and depending on that, the country is making its efforts to flatten the curve. In order to do that, he asked for the support of the nation by following a simple rule – ‘Resolve and Restraint’.
He appealed to every Indian to resolve by keeping oneself and the surroundings clean and follow restraint by staying indoors, maintaining social distancing.
He also lauded the efforts of doctors, government employees, the media and other essential services and said that except them, everyone should work from home if it’s possible. Taking into consideration of the economic situation of the country, he announced the setting up of COVID-19 Economic Task Force that would keep in touch with all the stakeholders and further analyze the situation which would help the government to tackle the crisis.
Acknowledging that the worst-hit classes will be lower middle class and the poor, the Prime Minister appealed to the Business class to behave sensitively to the services they avail and be considerate dealing with them.
Janata Curfew
In another striking announcement, PM put forth the idea of ‘Janata Curfew’ – a self-imposed curfew by the people for the safety of the people. He urged the people to hold the ‘Janata Curfew’ on 22nd March, Sunday, from 7 am to 9 pm when nobody should come out of their homes or attend any kind of gatherings. He also said the success of the ‘Janata Curfew’ would display the Indian symbol of self-restraint. Further, he requested the state government to observe the ‘Janata Curfew’ and also asked various social organizations to take up the initiatives to spread the news over the coming two days.
He also put forth another request. In order to honor the efforts by the medical professionals, government servants, delivery sector, transport department, media and other essential services who are practically at the forefront of the battle against the coronavirus, he asked the citizens to come out of their homes at 5 pm on 22nd March and salute them by clapping hands or ringing bells for a duration of 5 minutes. He also directed the local administration to siren the message at 5 pm on Sunday.
Before signing off, PM Modi assured Indians that the essential commodities will never go off supply and hence he advised people not to resort to panic buying. The PM further pumped in confidence into the hearts of the people who were in a state of panic.
