New Delhi: Prime time Sunday was dominated by speculation on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will extend the country-wide lockdown. Some of them also wondered what “Lockdown 2.0” would look like and if it would be similar to the first one.
ABP News’ anchor Rubika Liyaquat asked, “Kya Modi chaukaiyenge” (Will Modi astonish us?), referring to the decision on the extension of the lockdown.
Liyaquat asserted rather unnecessarily that, “Aaj nahi toh kal, PM Modi ko faisala sunana hoga” (Either today or tomorrow, Modi has to announce his decision).
Then she went down a rabbit hole — “Pehle PM ne kaha jaan hai jahaan hai, par ab keh rahe hai jaan bhi hai jahaan bhi hai. Jaan bhi, Jahaan bhi ke matra mein desh ka blueprint chupa hai?” (First PM said that if life exists, then the world does. But now he says that there is life and the world, is this India’s hidden blueprint?) We’re confused.
News 18 India’s anchor Neha Pant was in conversation with Chirag Paswan, National President of Lok Janshakti Party. Pant recalled that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that the lockdown will reopen in phases. However, Pant wanted more reassurance, “Will it actually happen? Is this true?”
“I would suggest that the lockdown should be extended for two weeks… there is no time for relaxation,” advised Paswan.
From coronavirus, the discussion shifted to hair and Pant played a video showcasing Paswan’s talents as a barber. In the video, he could be seen giving his father and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Ram Vilas Paswan a beard trim.
India TV’s anchor Pankaj Bhargava was poetic, “Doctors kehte hai ki isse pehle corona hum tak pahuche, humme corona ko phasana hoga,” (Doctors say that before coronavirus comes to us, we have to contain it).
Bhargava asked, “How is Delhi preparing for the second phase of the lockdown?”
Sanjeev Jha, member of AAP had only one answer — “We have to isolate ourselves.”
“Sarkar apni taraf se prayas kar rahi hai ki koi bhooka na rahe, koi bhi bhook ki majboori se sadak par na nikle,” (The government is making efforts to ensure that no one remains hungry) he added.
NDTV 24×7’s prime time show was a two hour special on unity in the times of coronavirus, hosted by Prannoy Roy. Among those on the show was lyricist and poet Prasoon Joshi. Joshi explained that our war is against coronavirus and not with each other.
Joshi had a puzzling take on statistics and borders,“Why are we competing with other countries on the basis of statistics?… Countries are geographically defined borders made for easing our operations. But this is not the time to think about that.”
“What we need right now is collective strength,” he continued in a statesmanlike fashion.
India Today’s anchor Rahul Kanwal, who has been facing a lot of flak online due to some of his comments, was in conversation with Dr David Nabarro, WHO’s special envoy. Kanwal asked, “We’re towards the end of the first phase of the lockdown and an extension seems inevitable. How does WHO see India’s lockdown?”
Dr Nabarro was filled with praise for India’s response to the coronavirus, “We have been very supportive of the action taken by the people and the government. Although we don’t have the luxury of detailed data, we do sense that you have been able to avert some large outbreak through this lockdown.”
Times Now anchor Padmaja Joshi was visibly angry at the “dastardly” attack on the Punjab Police — some members of the Nihang sect defied lockdown restrictions and then attacked the police, cutting off a policeman’s hand. The hand was later reattached by the doctors at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh
Joshi commented, “Even as all of India is witnessing a lockdown, in some places we are seeing again and again that people refuse to adhere to the law.”
“Ironically, the law was brought in for their own safety,” she continued.
Joshi then pronounced her judgwment: “They should not be treated with the slightest bit of mercy.”
Republic TV’s anchor Arnab Goswami announced, ‘No Corona Politics’ even as he continued to politicise the issue. “I believe that PM Modi has shown amazing leadership,” Goswami asserted.
“However, there are people who are engaging in petty corona politics… I would be lying to you if I told you that people who hate Modi are only focusing on political consequences of his leadership, not the socio-economic consequences of his leadership.” Oh, please don’t take us there, Mr Goswami!
