"India Enters Crucial 2-Week Period Today": P Chidambaram On COVID-19

In a series of tweets, the 74-year-old former union minister wrote about centre's response to COVID-19.

Nearly two weeks into a "total lockdown" to control spread of novel coronavirus or COVID-19, India has today entered a "crucial two-week period", Congress leader P Chidambaram said this morning as he also made a mention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's outreach to the opposition leaders on Sunday.

In a series of tweets, the 74-year-old former union minister wrote about centre's response to COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected over 4,000 people in India. More than 100 deaths have been linked in the country to the illness, one of the most infectious viral outbreaks the world has seen in recent decades. 

"India enters a crucial two week period today. So does the world. It is good that @narendramodi spoke to leaders of Opposition parties. I have no doubt that every one of them pledged support to the government's efforts to battle the spread of COVID-19," he tweeted.

India enters a crucial two week period today. So does the world

It is good that @narendramodi spoke to leaders of Opposition parties. I have no doubt that every one of them pledged support to the government's efforts to battle the spread of COVID-19.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 6, 2020

"If the Congress and other Opposition parties have pointed out the shortcomings in the measures taken by the government, it was in a spirit of constructive criticism and cooperation - a point highlighted in the CWC resolution of 2nd April, 2020," he wrote in another post.

In the last post in the series, he stressed on the need of aggressive testing to fight the pandemic that is spreading fast across the world. "There is unanimity among epidemiologists, doctors and district-level administrators that the need of the hour is aggressive and extensive testing. Let government begin that effort today," his post read.

On Sunday, PM Modi called two former presidents - Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil - and all senior opposition leaders of the country including former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Devegowda, to discuss the coronavirus outbreak in the country, sources told NDTV. 

The other leaders he called included Congress's Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool chief and Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, Odisha's Naveen Patnaik, south leaders KCR, MK Stalin, and ally Parkash Singh Badal.

The outreach came nearly two weeks after he had declared a three-week lockdown in the country to slow down the spread the highly contagious virus that prompted widespread criticism by several leaders of the opposition, including P Chidambaram. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has written to PM Modi several times in the last few weeks, urging him to rollout relief for the unorganised sector. 

Sources said the Prime Minister's outreach was part of the wider consultations being held on the modalities of lifting the lockdown, whenever that happens