All politicians are riding a tiger right now during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown – from US President Donald Trump to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Having won accolades for the bold, timely decision of imposing a nationwide lockdown on 24 March to fight the coronavirus crisis, Modi knows that both the extension and the easing of the lockdown now will only bring diminishing political returns. The first lockdown announcement in March, through the address to the nation, was the poetry of politics. In May, however, both its extension and lifting are ensnared in prose — in the fine print of government notifications, orders and guidelines. As many as 3,940 of them, from both the Centre and the states, at last count.
So, the decision now is to let the states figure out when and where to lift the lockdown in a phased manner. You can either look at it as evidence of Modi’s belief in India’s federal system or his unquestionable political instincts.
Now, a smart politician like Modi wouldn’t want to lose the initial surge in ratings during the greatest health and economic crisis. What’s more prudent for him is to know when to leave the podium, or get off the tiger.
If PM Modi is seen to preside over a national lockdown too long, he knows that credit will slowly get diluted with inconvenient questions about implementation, testing, hospital beds, curve flattening, economic damage, hunger and unemployment.
Also read: Situation normal, but all locked up: How Modi govt has risked incapacitating India
Modi knows political costs
The Centre “lets states reorder zones”, said The Indian Express front page Saturday. It is now up to the states to draw a roadmap of a phased lifting of restrictions – by sector and coloured zones.
This is not to say that these are purely political decisions. But these decisions have health and economic fallout, so they have political costs too. And a 24×7 consummate politician like Modi wouldn’t be unaware of this.
Modi is still ruling the popularity surveys, something that home minister Amit Shah flaunted in the middle of a pandemic in a tweet. It was, of course, less cringey than US President Donald Trump tweeting his own approval ratings. Either way, as Asim Ali and Ankita Barthwal wrote in ThePrint, the BJP hasn’t suspended its politics during the biggest public health emergency in the past century. Undoubtedly, political considerations will underline how these decisions are taken and executed.
Also read: Covid lockdown has ended only opposition politics in India. BJP’s shop is very much open
The Boris-Bolsonaro-Trump club
In the United States, Donald Trump is weighing these political risks too. Only he is less cautious than Modi. Showing growing impatience to re-open America, Trump even warned: “If some states refuse to open, I would like to see that person run for election.”
This was the most public admission of a definite political cost of the lockdown. But lifting a lockdown in a hurry isn’t less risky either. Calibrating the unlocking is crucial. If you get the timing and sequence wrong, then bad politics awaits you.
A public poll in France in the last week of April showed that support for strict lockdown had dropped below 50 per cent for the first time.
Most Americans support continuing the lockdown, and are largely opposed to those who protest it. In recent days, some ‘internet subcultures’ consisting of gun-advocates and anti-vaxxers are starting to oppose the lockdown on the grounds of freedom, the favourite American template. In California, mayors are even clashing publicly with governors on whether to lift the lockdown or not.
The popularity ratings of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Britain’s Boris Johnson and Italy’s Giuseppe Conte have also soared during the pandemic.
Re-distributing risks
If Modi cedes the decisions for the remaining lockdown period and tweaking of restrictions to state chief ministers, he would come out like a national leader who acted early enough, showed the way and then left it to others to carry on, in true federal spirit.
After the initial lockdown speech, Modi has been appearing more federal and consultative in his subsequent announcements.
This could be part of his exit strategy, to spread out the risks. Of course, Modi’s supporters will say that his critics have a problem both when he centralises decisions and when he leaves it to the states. But the point here is the timing. The decision to re-open India is fraught with political risks, and hence that gets shared.
Also read: Coronavirus has brought India’s almighty Centre back, and Modi’s unlikely to give up control
Win-win move?
Can the chief ministers afford to lift all restrictions or will they be extra-cautious? The impatience with which they (Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, K. Chandrasekhar Rao) want to push out migrant workers from their borders and are digging trenches to prevent movement (Manohar Lal Khattar) indicate they will err on the side of caution and won’t lift lockdown in any tearing hurry. Especially since returning migrants are testing positive and green zones are decreasing in many states.
“The number of Covid-19 hotspot districts in India has come down to 129 from 170 a fortnight ago, but in the same period, the number of infection-free districts or green zones too decreased from 325 to 307,” said India Today on 30 April.
Tamil Nadu has only one coronavirus-free green zone.
As the Modi-led central government issues some guidelines for easing the lockdown, the fine print is in the coloured zones in the states and in the cautious decisions that chief ministers will have to take. But states may find their hands tied.
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh told India Today Saturday that states should be empowered to draw up their own coloured zones, and not a bureaucrat in the Union health ministry.
If it works Modi can claim credit, if not, shift the blame to the states and the chief ministers.
Views are personal.
You still can’t judge Modi properly, He always do good for Nation. We believe in him as we are observing him almost 18 years. I don’t know why certain group of Media can’t see anything positive ? Negetivity ruin the nation and the person also. So be positive
Very well written article. Shows the true side of Modi and BJP government.
Really appreciate it.
Very well written article. Shows the true side of Modi and BJP government.
Nothing new and surprised as usual spreading negativity and hatred against a great leader and visionary PM
Shekhar Gupta is saying
One size fits for all solution for lockdown is wrong.
Modi is saying, according to states lockdown will be removed. So its under state decision.
Now thePrint’s RamaLakshmi is saying that is wrong..
Double game! huh!!
The Print always thinks like an electron, obviously modi only could have stopped the nation at once, but now the situation is different every state has different situation, so he can’t open India in one call.
You are Congress puppet.
How can you say this? Its clearly mentioned by the government that promotion of red area to green or orange is in hands of central government and declaration of red area is in hands of state government …..
Terrible views as always by the print. Majority of the states in India are under BJP. Are you suggesting that Modi wants his BJP ruled states to fail? Come on, it is a no brainer that now a single country wide formula cannot be applied. The zones are at the level of the wards and localities. You expect Modi to take decisions at this micro level…?
Modi is a great leader, stop trying to vilify him.
How much can the author fall and there is no further lower level to stoop down to.
India’s biggest mistake – MODI.
the print is really sick now
Strange article. If you had say rats in your house, first you would shut the whole house down. Then as you cleared each room you would open it. The lockdown had to be all or nothing. America in fact failed to call a national lockdown. Some stares didn’t lock down at all. So this is just practical. Close everything and then open up partially as things become clearer. Some people will see politics in everything.
Little confusing about the comments on Modi’s decision regarding lifting of covid-19 in different states by the chief ministers and wading the leadership and risk by the great leader of bharathmata India. Footing reply is utmost necessary and required too.
Now CMs of various states get the opportunity to show their leaderships. Let’s see who can take bold and important decisions.
Good points. India govt is simply copying other countries and sitting their hands waiting for a cure.
Never read an article which shouts ‘Biased’ right from the subject line itself
As usual Print is Antimodi ..
Typical print.. typical modi bashing.. sometimes in a subtle way,.most of other times in a very intimidating way.. modi should do everything, take criticism for it but all the accolades must go to others… Seriously? You need to get a life
Hello. Looks like the columnist just wanted to write something..
For the first lockdown, if Modi got the credit, then its his rightful due… Why deny that…
As if you people never voiced your views against it… U tried your best… It did not work though.. we saw your game plan. Next…
Before every extension, there were calls better the state and center. Every state government. ( Atleast majority wanted the lockdown to be extended). Extension was not not the union govt’s decision alone..
If state govt thinks its risky, all they have to do is , say that ” we will follow what the center says”. Simple. No risk..
Next.
Even while opening up the economy, the center has given rules and asked the state to implement it. They have been given freedom to be more stringent but not more lax… So again who has defined… Center or state?
Next… There are so many Central govt undertakings, which has to be governed by the center. For example domestic flights, railways, interstate services etc? Is the PM shying away from taking actions..
Yarukku ma kadule poo suthre?
Do your home work please? I suggest you read the book ” The art of thinking clearly” so that you get over your bias..
Hello. Looks like the columnist just wanted to write something..
Before every extension, there were calls better the state and center. Every state government. ( Atleast majority wanted the lockdown to be extended). Extension was not not the union govt’s decision alone..
If state govt thinks its risky, all they have to do is , say that ” we will follow what the center says”. Simple. No risk..
Next.
Even while opening up the economy, the center has given rules and asked the state to implement it. They have been given freedom to be more stringent but not more lax… So again who has defined… Center or state?
Next… There are so many Central govt undertakings, which has to be governed by the center. For example domestic flights, railways, interstate services etc? Is the PM shying away from taking actions..
Yarukku ma kadule poo suthre?
Do your home work please? I suggest you read the book ” The art of thinking clearly” so that you get over your bias..
katayi gadhe writer ho print wale. kis munh se sheeshe me shakal dekhte ho
Absolutely shame on you for being such an idiotic unprofessional critic… It is because of people like you that the nation suffers.. Stop criticising stupidly without proper justifications and do something productive in life… Even the title to your report is absolutely unprofessional written.. This shows you have no credibility
DEAR PRINT, ALL OF US WHO ARE CURRENTLY READING THIS KNOW THAT YOU’RE FUNDED BY THE OPPOSITION, SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO MUD SLASHING ON A PERSON WHO HAS DONE MUCH MORE TOWARDS THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE THAN THIS STUPID WRITER OF THIS ARTICLE EVER WILL,
AND TO WHOEVER IS READING THIS, I REQUEST ALL OF YOU TO JOIN ME TOWARDS BOYCOTTING THIS STUPID PRINT MEDIA HOUSE, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF POLITICS, BUT, AT A TIME LIKE THIS WHEN GLOBALLY INDIA IS BEING SUPPORTED AND APPLAUDED IT’S HIGHLY SHAMEFUL THAT MEDIA LIKE THIS SHOWCASE US IN SUCH A BAD LIGHT JUST LIKE THAT STUPID REPORT OF SOME USCIRF.
Rama Lakshmi is totally confused – she has no clue with what to do with Modi’s popularity. This article is a direct “Modi bashing”. If Modi is doing anything right, then also these Pseudo Liberals have a problem. That Modi is a smart politician, they have a problem. That he reads peoples’ pulses, they have a problem. That he is respecting states and allowing them to decide, they have a problem. That people of India supported Modi till now (with almost 80% approval rating), they have a problem. That Modi gets the timing right every time, with this too have a problem.
The frustration is all over the place. If your rag-tag politicians and political parties (opposition) are unable to capture the imagination of the Nation, that’s your problem. I hope you realize that you represent a very minuscule %age of the population who are on the wrong side of the fence – from your perspective of course that’s the right side. These sponsored articles will fetch no political dividend for the Opposition other than galvanizing more support for Modi. Keep them coming. 2024 is already lost…so start focusing on 2029. Maybe Antonio Maino’s Grandsons may hold some hope by that time.
Modiji will never bother about details.He is good in awe and shock decisions which magnifies his ego.No opposition parties should wake up and demand all the help from the central government.But Congress which has a chance to size the movement will do nothing.Rahulji will be packing his bags for vacation
When in March Hon’ble PM announced lockdown 1.0 opposition parties cried that PM did not prediscuss the matter with opposition leaders and state government which did not go well with federal structure. Now when he let state govt. to decide, they again cry foul. They have nothing concrete for the country.
What about central vista project of 20,000 crores amid coronavirus crises.
BJP and Sangh parivar are expert demolition, distruction etc. The head is naturally good in locking which he did using Corona. Now he does not want to take for unlocking as he does not want to take responsibility if things go wrong. He is therefore passing on the buck to states.
With a name like Rama Lakshmi, I would have guessed that you might have a good steady mind but not.The only Leader who acted as soon as he knew the dangers of Coved19,, he had a lockdown while others were thinking it was just a Flu.CM’s in all Congress help states or where they minority wants to grab all the glory.Bulshit the next government in 2024 will be BJP don’t you forget it.You are handsomely being Paid by Congress party.
I wonder why the media sees everything from Modi and non-Modi point of view. Is the Media guilty of making “Modi” a bigger than life figure.
The media needs to reflect on its MODI fixation. This is definitely for sensationalism. What if the media were to report incidents / actions /policies as coming from Central Government / State Government / Finance Minister / Congress Party et al……
“Modi got all the credit for lockdown…”
I don’t know what is creditworthy in that, especially for a person like Modi ji who loves to make sensational announcements without any preparation or thinking through the consequences. Like demenetization. When I was in school we used to play a game called “Statue”. I don’t know if today’s children are familiar with that sadistic pastime, but Modi ji has certainly not forgotten it. Just four hours were given for poor people before they would become “Statue”.
Now when the time has come to call it off (I don’t remember the command with which the statue was withdrawn), he wants others to take a call… lest something goes wrong!
The answer to this problem is very simple, but I’m not telling
Low iQ
Rama Laxmi is sure riding the libtard hobby horse, ‘ Evil Modi’, by painting what has been done in à rational and logical manner, to be part of ‘Plan Modi Rating’. It was the Center’s job to decide the start, extent and severity of lockdown, and the States’ job to implement it. Once the lockdown started, Modi then started formulating policies in consultation with the state governments. And so is the case of lifting the lockdown, taking the ground realities into consideration.
If acting in the spirit of federalism gets Modi popularity, then we can take comfort from the fact that the majority of people have their heads screwed right, and are thinking logically. Which cannot be said of the writer of this turdy piece, when he/ she spouts the familiar libtard phrases and vocabulary.
It’s so evident that this media is supported by ugly looking Jihadis.. may PIZZ be upon u ..
Situation is very critical. Unemployment and economic is not working. It’s not safe till the world may come out with medicine or vaccine. We cannot stop working. We have to work together with precautions. Only lockdown is no option. Some countries has adopted the policy of social distance. We must strictly follow it till the no solution. Everyone have to follow the social distance. I hope it will better work. We have not to work seen in our vegitable markets. Everyone have take a lesson from doctors, police and our CRPF already involved and paid it. No one is safe if we didn’t take precautions. Now everyone has to take the responsibility we have to strictly follow it otherwise we have to pay a huge penalty. So we aware and run this economy with social distance and always use masks .
If author doesn’t want credit to be given to Modi, she can give credit to Sonia Gandhi. Nobody would care as long as death toll due Corona is under control.
Politics has become a dangerous game now in India. Aandh bakhti rules the roost.
And commis, jihadis, naxals, maowadis, islamists, Vatican agents and rice bag converts are pouring their vitriol on Modi, trying to destroy, disintegrate and divide India on the basis of religion and caste. Get lost.
Baised article.
PM has given clear leverage to all states to implement best possible actions they want. That’s democracy. If he would have not done so, then he would have been portrayed as dictator.
I don’t get this:
Too centralized on PMO earlier and now putting it on states to get the glory! Can biased media persons make up their mind?!
There’s a simple difference here:
Seeking glory: Trump who held (and now has stopped) press conferences making himself the face of the pandemic battle.. there are chief ministers in India doing this as well.
Modi on the other hand has the scientists talk to the media. This is the way to pass reliable and scientific information. We all know Lav Agarwal today and not Modi as the face of the press meet. God forbid, if he were to face the media, the questions would have been pathetic! Our media needs to stop putting people on trial and sentencing them even when courts have announced judgements.
Our judiciary is sold out. What courts and what judgements r u talking about ?
The Print is a compitator of pappu in making jokes and propagating lies.
Look at the comments above. This article is published on the print. We will never forget this. Modi may not be appreciated by everyone but how he has handled this emergency has become a history. You see him as a politician, for us he is our PM.
Naturally know its states responsibilities to act in lifting the Lock-down in their respective states. Rightly the Center govt has introduced the concept of color zones & left the discretion to follow as such it have given clear instruction pertaining to Red color, Green color etc., Now the Karnataka has come up with Purple Zone, what it represents & why created one more zone no clarification yet.
Basically states are vicing their un happiness pertaining to restriction on Liquor & Petrol since the revenue goes to the State Govt. Kitties.
No doubt its state govts. has to use its discretion at the maximum & ensure the lock-down release in stages. Yes pertaining to this the state govts has to face Bouquet or Brickbat. Definitely their decision has political impact if the situation goes to the worst stage.
Thanks
Nagesh Rao
Idiotic media house, always publish negative news on current government,
Yes sir media especially the print. It ought to be ashamed of itself for making statements like this It is as bad as any opp politicians.Look at the timing
Correct. Modi has told the states to decide easing of lockdown at their local level as they would be more efficient at local government level. Please have right views.
They are obviously not paid BeeJayPEE bootlickers.
May lord Krishna bless you with honesty, dear writer.
Hare Krishna hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna hare hare
Hare Rama hare Rama
Rama Rama hare hare.
Chant this mantra as often as you can. Haribol
The media should take lead from Arnab Goswami Rhul Shiv Sankar. Navika Kumar, Anand narasimhan, Rhul Kanwar et al. Others are all anti national
Now lock down will get all the discredit from oppo parties
That was below the belt.
The Print has zero credibility. It is a 2nd rate mouthpiece of the Congress.
In your articles, first convince the reader of your credible alternative solution and only then criticise what Mr. Modi’ s Govt is doing wrong.
You morons don’t have solutions…. hence you only criticize!
C’mon guys, your favorite child Mr Rahul Gandhi and Mr Rajan conclude that India needs to “help the poor”…. WTF! Seriously??
Well said
You dont need an amazing media house like Print to give you solutions…I will give alternatives…govt failed to do sufficient tests, govt failed to protects the doctors and nurses, it failed to heavily tax the rich and transfer the amount to poor, even when the citizens took the burnt of lockdown still their were spread of the virus…even after being so much anti-china, govt had to knock The Dragon’s door for medical kits and guess what India got dumped with faulty kits!!…stupid govt we are having!!
Has editor taken readers as a granted….??
Senseless post totally…
every press has right to write anything until it is a fake news
Typical Modi.
Modi is politician and a very successful one at that. It will be our STUPIDITY to expect him to behave like a saint. He does not need an inner voice to hide behind for his failures or short comings.
By allowing the states to take a call he has given a clear signal that he has delegated the authority and responsibility with a clear challenge to perform.
After seeing him in power for six years, how can people still doubt his honesty and capability ?
If we did not have demonetization, there would be so much free cash in the hands on hoarders that every thing during the lock down would be at a price. The digitization that followed has saved us from standing outside the Banks or ATMs. The success of lock down lies in that.
The states prove their capabilities.
Display of grace for good actions makes the criticism more respectable and credible. Judgmental Criticism without alternative sounds more like absue.
Before Modi came to power in 2014, I remember , I did digital banking regularly. I wonder how I could do those things then after reading your comment !
Kerala began lock down before pm could decide seems pm follows kerala get facts correct
The point is that you think he is smart and people you support are stupid. So haters are now thinking they are stupid. Well that’s WELCOME .