New Delhi: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation at 10 am Tuesday, reactions came pouring in on Twitter. Some good, some bad and some… well, find out for yourselves.
First, quarantine’s ‘literal’ meaning, provided by Flipkart’s co-founder and former executive chairman Sachin Bansal, may be the simplest explanation for the lockdown extension.
Quarantine literally means 40 days isolation.
— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) April 14, 2020
Modi’s ministers were stout in support of him. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal recommend the seven requests made by the PM.
आज प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi ने भारत में जारी लॉकडाउन को तीन मई तक बढ़ाने की घोषणा की है।
यह निर्णय भारतवासियों की स्वास्थ्यरक्षा को ध्यान में रख कर किया गया है। उनकी अपील को ध्यान में रखते हुए हम सबको लॉकडाउन का पालन करते हुए उनकी सात बातों पर हमें उनका साथ देना चाहिए।
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) April 14, 2020
To ensure our fellow citizens stay safe & healthy while the nation combats the Coronavirus pandemic, PM @NarendraModi ji has sought support from all of us on 7 things.
Let us all support and abide the 7 pleas made by PM Modi and make the country safe again. #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/ImPC7Vo3y2
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 14, 2020
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman applauds lockdown 2.0 but gets the date wrong.
We have to be alert that there shall be no new #Corona #hotspots. We have to be as careful as we have been all this while. Lockdown is extended till 2 May 2020, says @PMOIndia
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) April 14, 2020
Home Minister Amit Shah comes out to reassure citizens with a list of his own.
देश के गृह मंत्री के नाते मैं जनता को पुनः आश्वस्त करता हूँ कि देश में अन्न, दवाई व अन्य रोजमर्रा की चीज़ों का प्रयाप्त भण्डार है, इसलिए किसी भी नागरिक को परेशान होने की आवश्यकता नहीं है। साथ ही संपन्न लोगों से निवेदन करता हूँ कि आप आगे आकर आसपास रहने वाले गरीबों की सहायता करें।
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 14, 2020
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi ignores the PM’s address; instead he provides a reality check on the country’s testing kits situation.
India delayed the purchase of testing kits & is now critically short of them.
With just 149 tests per million Indians, we are now in the company of Laos (157), Niger (182) & Honduras (162).
Mass testing is the key to fighting the virus. At present we are nowhere in the game.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 14, 2020
Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram is disappointed by the government. What else is new?
The poor have been left to fend for themselves for 21+19 days, including practically soliciting food. There is money, there is food, but the government will not release either money or food.
Cry, my beloved country.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) April 14, 2020
Congress spokesperson and senior leader Abhishek Singhvi has a question for the ruling BJP government, but will he receive a reply?
Amazing #PM address. Exhortation, rhetoric, inspiration…..yet hollow on specifics! No financial package, no details, no concrete item. Neither 4poor nor middle class nor industry nor businesses. #Lockdown is good bt cannot be end in itself! Where is single livelihood issue?
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) April 14, 2020
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor feels let down by his Prime Minister.
I support the announcement by @PMOIndia @narendraModi of #Lockdown extension. Can't discard the gains being made. But he should have also announced serious relief for those who cannot make ends meet. MNREGA payments, JanDhan accounts, GST dues to states,&aid to sweeten the pill.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 14, 2020
The media came in for a fair bit of scrutiny, too. First comedian Abhineet Mishra marvels at ABP News.
#lockdown of journalism @ABPNews pic.twitter.com/7VgKmrpSrg
— Abhineet Mishra (@AbhineetMishraa) April 14, 2020
And then Mohammed Zubair, Altnews, discovers that by a strange coincidence, many news anchors were tweeting the same thing…
Same WhatsApp group? ??♂️??♂️ pic.twitter.com/AVBudhk2nC
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 14, 2020
Here is a ‘May’ joke and a sly dig from brand consultant Ramesh Srivats over the lockdown extension!
From "Lockdown may get extended" to "Lockdown extended to May".
But, to be fair, this speech of Modi was better than earlier ones. Clear message plus he addressed other implications. He's getting good at lockdowns.— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) April 14, 2020
Chairman of the RPG group Harsh Goenka spells out things in the time of coronavirus.
During lockdown period, I find a lot more people inclined towards BJP:
B artan
J hadoo
P ocha— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) April 14, 2020
And finally, Mumbai Police proving it is a ‘Sarabhai’ fan too, just like us!
Shaving ke liye cream se better hai foam
Shaving ke liye cream se better hai foamDuring the lockdown, please stay at home#LockdownLessons #TakingOnCorona pic.twitter.com/IpNwBzOzQR
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) April 14, 2020
With inputs by Unnati Sharma.