"Cry, My Beloved Country": P Chidambaram On PM's Lockdown Extension

Lockdown Extension: P Chidambaram said the country understands the compulsion for extending the lockdown

"Cry, my beloved country," veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted minutes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the current lockdown to May 3 in the battle to fight coronavirus.

The former Finance Minister said the poor have been "left to fend for themselves for 21+19 days".

He said that while the country understands the compulsion for extending the lockdown, the advice of experts like former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan, Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee , Jean Dreze and Prabhat Patnaik have "fallen on deaf years".

The poor have been left to fend for themselves for 21+19 days, including practically soliciting food. There is money, there is food, but the government will not release either money or food.

Cry, my beloved country.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 14, 2020

"After taking into account all suggestions, we have decided to extend the lockdown till May 3," PM Modi said on Tuesday morning in his 25-minute address shortly after India crossed the 10,000-mark in COVID-19 cases.

CMs' demand for money elicited no response. Not a rupee has been added to the miserly package of March 25, 2020

From Raghuram Rajan to Jean Dreze, from Prabhat Patnaik to Abhijit Banerji, their advice has fallen on deaf years.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 14, 2020

"Till April 20, each district, each state will be monitored closely to see whether the lockdown is being followed. Then we can decide on relaxing the restrictions," said the Prime Minister, who used a traditional red and white "gamcha" or cloth towel as a mask before beginning his address.

Several other Congress leaders too criticised the Prime Minister's address, with the party terming it as "rhetoric and hollow" on specifics. The opposition party said was no mention of a financial package or concrete steps to revive the economy that has been under severe stress since the lockdown was declared last month.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said PM Modi's address was like "Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark".

"Amazing PM address. Exhortation, rhetoric, inspiration.....yet hollow on specifics! No financial package, no details, no concrete item. Neither for poor nor middle class nor industry nor businesses. Lockdown is good but cannot be end in itself! Where is single livelihood issue," he said in a series of tweets.

Delhi Chief Minister, however, did not have any words of criticism for the Prime Minister's speech. He said Delhi would fully implement lockdown measures announced by PM Modi to contain the COVID-19 spread.