On March 20, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the first virtual meeting with state Chief Ministers to discuss measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. Since then, he has chaired at least 11 meetings with the Chief Ministers, with the latest held on Wednesday.
Prime Minister’s video conference with chief ministers was held on Wednesday following a spurt in cases in Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. This was the first meeting between PM Modi and the Chief Ministers since India launched its immunisation drive on January 16.
In his interaction with the Chief Ministers, the Prime Minister said that the country must immediately stop the “second peak of coronavirus infection”. As of Wednesday, India’s Covid-19 tally stood at 1,14,38,734 with 2,34,406 active cases. At least 1,59,044 deaths due to infections have been reported across the country.
Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu collectively account for 71.10 per cent of the 28,903 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. At least 83.91 per cent of the new cases are from Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Maharashtra alone accounts for 61.8 per cent of the daily new cases.
Here is a look at Prime Minister Modi’s previous meetings with the Chief Ministers:
In his March 20, 2020 meeting, the Prime Minister said that the pandemic threat is common for all states and underscored the need for the Centre and states to work together.
He said that while citizens’ participation is necessary to combat the challenge, panic needs to be avoided. He also said that given the spread of the virus globally, constant vigilance is of paramount importance. By this time, India had reported four Covid-related deaths and the total number of confirmed cases was 236.
Days after this meeting, Prime Minister Modi announced a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days from March 25, 2020.
On April 2, 2020, he held his second meeting with the Chief Ministers and thanked the states for supporting the lockdown decision. He said lockdown has helped India in achieving some success in containing the spread of Covid-19. In this meeting, he not just praised the state governments for working together as a team to check the virus spread but also warned them that the global situation was far from satisfactory.
He highlighted the necessity of maintaining a supply of essential medical products, availability of raw material for the manufacture of medicines and medical equipment. By April 2, 2020, India had reported 1,965 confirmed cases and 50 deaths. The active cases were around 1,860.
Days before the 21-day lockdown was to end, Prime Minister Modi held another meeting with the Chief Ministers on April 11, 2020, for a lockdown exit plan. During this meeting, the Chief Ministers suggested an extension of lockdown by two weeks. As of April 11, 2020, India had reported 7,529 Covid-19 cases with 6,634 active cases and 242 deaths.
The fourth meeting with the Chief Ministers was held on April 27, 2020, when India reported 28,380 cases of which 20,835 were active and fatalities stood at 886. Along with phased unlock, Prime Minister Modi had reiterated the mantra of ‘do gaz doori’. He said masks and face covers will become part of citizens lives in the days ahead.
Another meeting was held on May 11, 2020, during which the Prime Minister emphasized changes in the post-Covid-19 world. He said the world has been divided into ‘Pre-Corona’, and ‘Post-Corona’ eras. With the gradual withdrawal from the lockdown, he also reminded that the biggest weapon to fight the virus is social distancing. On May 11, 2020, India’s Covid-19 tally was 67,152 with 44,029 active cases. The death toll stood at 2,206.
On June 2020, the Prime Minister held a two-day interaction with the Chief Ministers to discuss the situation after Unlock 1.0 and plans for tackling the pandemic. The meetings were held on June 16 and 17, 2020. By that time, India’s Covid-19 tally was 3,54,065 infections with 1,55,227 active cases. The death toll stood at 11,903.
On August 11, 2020, Prime Minister Modi interacted with the Chief Ministers of ten states — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh — to discuss the Covid-19 situation and plans to tackle the spread. The active cases were 6,39,929 and almost 80 per cent of active cases were from the participating 10 states. Till then, India has recorded over 22.6 lakh COVID-19 cases and 45,257 deaths.
On September 23, 2020, PM Modi held another round of discussion with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. By this date, India’s overall infection tally stood at 56,46,010 with 9,68,377 active cases, while the death toll climbed to 90,020.
PM Modi held another round of interaction with all the Chief Ministers on November 24, 2020, when the total number of coronavirus cases in India stood at 91,39,865 with 4,38,667 active cases and the deaths climbed to 1,33,738.
The Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting with the Chief Ministers and Administrators of all States and Union Territories on January 11, 2021, to review the status and preparedness for the Covid-19 vaccination drive that started from January 16, 2021. By that time, India’s total number of Covid-19 cases had climbed to 1,04,66,595, including 2,22,526 active cases. The death toll stood at 1,51,160.
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