The national lockdown was announced on the evening of March 24, 2020, by PM Modi. There was also a single-day lockdown on March 23 in the run-up to the 21-day lockdown which began on March 25, 2020.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made up his mind on a “major decision” at least before March 20, 2020, to prevent the spread of the Covid-19.
Joshi said in March 2020, the Budget Session of the House was going on and PM Modi asked him to expedite essential business like getting the Finance Bill passed.
“In March 2020, our parliament session was on. The PM called me on March 18 or March 20. I don't remember exactly the date. The PM said Parliament is on, but there is a possibility of Covid spreading, I am set to announce a major decision,” Joshi said, speaking at an event at IIT-Bombay here.
The national lockdown was announced on the evening of March 24, 2020, by PM Modi. There was also a single-day lockdown on March 23 in the run-up to the 21-day lockdown which began on March 25, 2020. India's lockdown was termed as the world's strictest and was criticized for offering too little time for the people to make arrangements.
Joshi said PM Modi asked him to speak to the finance minister, who, in turn, said that she was planning to get the Finance Bill passed on March 28 or March 29. However, PM Modi asked for the Bill to be cleared before March 21 and go for adjournments on March 22 and 23, Joshi recalled.
The minister also spoke with PM Modi about the news reports and opinion pieces which painted a dark picture of things to come, like lots of people being dead and the country's existence coming under threat.
“But the PM said there is no other alternative for this,” Joshi said without elaborating. Joshi added that the PM told him that we need to produce a vaccine against Covid-19, and the government was in discussions with scientists and manufacturers on the same, even before the virus entered India.
The results of this promptness are there for everybody to see, Joshi said, adding that India rendered 230 crore doses of the vaccine and also produced the vaccine.
Meanwhile, when asked about the logjam in Parliament, which also resulted in a 20-party boycott of the new Parliament building inauguration on Sunday, Joshi said the government will “interact” with the Opposition to discuss their issues.
“We are going to most probably have the (Monsoon) Session in the new Parliament. Let them come, we are ready for a discussion on any issue and we will try to convince them, we will try to interact with the Opposition,” Joshi told reporters.
He said even in the Budget session, washed out by the Adani controversy and Rahul Gandhi's purported comments, the government made a request for having a discussion but the Opposition did not oblige and did not participate in the debate.
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 "PM Modi had made up mind on a ‘major decision’ before March 20, 2020; had asked to…: Union Minister")
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