At last, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a talk with Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, at least going by what the latter has claimed.
Naidu said he had called the Prime Minister on Monday night and discussed about the way forward in the fight against Covid-19 epidemic.
He said he had complimented Modi for taking the right decision on the first phase of lockdown that concluded on Tuesday.
“I told the Prime Minister that under his efficient leadership, right decision was made on lockdown-1. That helped India stand in the forefront of the battle against the virus. Many other countries are facing problems. I complimented him saying he is building national consensus in the right spirit. Now testing should be increased and people should be prepared for future struggle,” Naidu told reporters.
Showering a lot of praises on Modi for taking a bold and statesman-like decision to extend lockdown, the TDP chief said Modi was giving priority to saving the lives of people despite deepening economic crisis in the country.
He claimed that Modi had duly given him a call back this morning in reply to his (Naidu’s) call yesterday night and discussed about the way forward in the fight against Covid-19.
The TDP chief said had Modi not announced lockdown-1, India’s positive cases would have gone up to 8 lakh as per a forecast as against the present 10,500 reported from all over the country till now.
He recalled how the PM asserted no compromise in sternly implementing the lockdown-2 though relaxations would begin after April 20 for the sake of helping poor people and to make essential commodities available.
At the same time, if virus spread is noticed, the toughest restrictions would be implemented in those areas.