Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana Favour Lockdown Extension In PM-CMs Meet; Bengal Seeks Fiscal Support

During a video conference with PM Narendra Modi on Monday, states that demanded an extension include Telangana, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal. Several states have asked for financial assistance from the central government.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the Chief Ministers of various States via video conferencing, to discuss COVID-19 situation, in New Delhi, Monday, May 11, 2020. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: On Monday, PM Narendra Modi held a video meeting with the Chief Ministers of all states to discuss the strategy ahead with respect to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in India and lifting the nationwide lockdown. At the Prime Minister's fifth video conference with Chief Ministers, at least five states have supported an extension of the current lockdown. However, they seem to be outnumbered by many state governments who have asked for more relaxations in opening up the economy. According to sources, the states that demanded an extension include Telangana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. As Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state with more than 22,000 cases of Covid-19, CM Uddhav Thackeray pitched for extending the current lockdown, stating that lifting it will grossly impact the state's efforts to contain the virus. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh also supported the extension, but with a carefully crafted exit strategy backed by economic empowerment of states to save lives and secure livelihood. He said the states should be given greater flexibility in micro-planning. "The decision on designating red, orange/yellow and green zones should be left to the states, which are more cognizant of the ground realities", he said. The chief minister said micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) should be allowed to function in red zones with proper safeguards. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took a similar stance as the Punjab CM by saying, "States face different challenges & therefore should be given the freedom to make reasonable changes to the guidelines relating to the lockdown." West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was believed to be in a fiery mood, also pitched for the extension. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is believed to have told the PM to ensure economic activities across the national capital except for the containment zones. Interestingly, the entire Delhi comes under the red zone. Telangana and Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers raised their objections to the resumption of railway services. Both K. Chandrasekhar Rao and E. Palaniswami claimed it will undo all the gains of lockdown and the "time" for the resumption of railway services hasn't come, yet. Last night, the Centre announced that from May 12, it will slowly restart train services.

Prime Minister Modi said,the state govts have to ensure that rural India remains free from #COVID19 crisis. PM added that slowly but surely,economic activities have begun to pick up in several parts of the country and in the coming days,this process will further gather steam https://t.co/TcMXIMFXOR

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 11, 2020

Several states have asked for some form of financial assistance from the central government as lockdown continues to hit the coffers. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy demanded resumption of inter-state transport service. He stated that Andhra Pradesh requires Rs 16,000 crore immediately to fight Covid-19. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also asked for a special economic package from the Centre and sought central assistance to bring back all Bengal migrant labourers stranded in various parts of the country. CM Amarinder Singh also demanded urgent financial assistance to states to meet at least 33 per cent of their committed liabilities, along with revenue grants for three months to meet the shortfall in revenue and fund expenditure on tackling coronavirus. The chief minister told the prime minister that Punjab was losing Rs 3,000 crore per month in revenue with the state power corporation's losses pegged at Rs 30 crore daily. He reiterated the demand for an immediate release of Punjab's GST arrears of Rs 4,365.37 crore. CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao reiterated the demand that the loans of the states be rescheduled on the lines of re-scheduled loans of farmers. He urged the Centre to take initiative in this regard. Under the third phase of Lockdown, the total number of cases in India is 67,152, of which 44,029 people are under medical supervision and total 20,917 people have recovered from the disease. (With inputs from agencies) Also Watch: Decoding PM Modi's signals in CMs meeting | Bharat Ki Baat