New Delhi: Along with his fellow countrymen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, lightened up 'diyas' outside his residence in New Delhi for his '9 PM 9 Minutes' call to mark respect to the Covid-19 warriors - doctors, nurses, sanitation workers and police personnel - who are braving it out on the front lines.

The Prime Minister took to Twitter and shared some picture of him lighting up diyas along with a Sanskrit sholaka.


As the clock counted 9 pm, millions of households across the country, participated in the 'lights off' exercise as PM Modi's call to display country's collective effort to defeat the Coronavirus outbreak.

With lakhs of residents lighting a 'diya' each on Sunday in their balconies, Diwali seemed to have arrived months earlier in the city.

From metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai to tier two cities like Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior or Karnataka's Mysuru, people rose above their political inclination to respond to PM Modi's call and project a united front.


In the political landscape, not just PM Modi, but several other including President Ram Nath Kovind also lit diyas. BJP President J.P. Nadda lit candles along with his entire family. Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi released a video holding a candle in hand.


PM Modi's mother Hira Ba too took part in this exercise.

However, it is the common men and women who led this initiative, regardless of their views on Modi and his policies. In housing societies, apartment balconies, residences, slum clusters, "normal Indians showed they care for those who care for them -- doctors, nurses, and police personnel.

On Friday morning, PM Modi shared a short video clip, as announced by him earlier on Thursday, urging all to light diyas or candles or even flash flights in their balconies or outside their main gate, as a mark of respect to the Corona Warriors.


"I request all of of you to switch off all the lights of your house on 5 April at 9 PM for 9 minutes, and just light a candle, 'diya', or mobile's flashlight, to mark our fight against coronavirus," he said.

While it was dismissed as unnecessary by many and a diversion by the Opposition, its emotional appeal rallied many Indians together immediately. A new hashtag - 9 baje 9 minute started to trend on Twitter almost immediately. And on Sunday, common people went to their balconies to light candles, as a symbolic move.