‘At 9pm on Sunday, light a lamp, candle or flashlight’
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I want nine minutes of your life. Please switch off the lights of your house — and then... please light a candle, a diya, or flash the mobile phone light. That light will show that no one is alone
NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister
NEWDELHI: In a symbolic move on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday gave a call to citizens to switch off the lights in their homes and light oil lamps, candles, and flash their mobile phone torches on April 5 at 9pm, for nine minutes. This, he suggested, will be a mark of the collective power of people and showcase their determination in taking the country from darkness to illumination.
The government also embarked on a substantive review of the efforts to tackle both the pandemic and deal with the fallout of the nationwide lockdown, with a meeting of a Group of Ministers (GoM) led by defence minister Rajnath Singh. Key government stakeholders were represented at the meeting, where ministers felt that issues related to migrant workers had been addressed while impediments related to essential supplies were in the process of being addressed. The government also set up 10 groups of secretaries to deal with specific issues on Friday. Addressing the nation, Modi said that Friday marked the ninth day of the lockdown — and praised citizens for their discipline and service. He also said that the battle against the pandemic was not an individual one but a collective one of 1.3 billion people.
Underlining that the poor had suffered the most due to the pandemic, and all efforts had to be directed to taking the country towards hope and certainty, the PM said: “This Sunday, on April 5, at 9pm, I want nine minutes of your life. Please switch off the lights of your house — and then either at the door, or in the balcony of your house, please light a candle, a diya, or flash the mobile phone light. That light will show that no one is alone.”
The PM was, however, quick to emphasise that no one should congregate on the occasion or go out on the streets — in what was possibly a reference to many citizens gathering in large crowds after applauding front line workers during the “janta curfew” on March 22, and thus undermining the principle of social distancing.
Opinion was divided on the PM’s address. Supporters saw it as a laudable effort to mobilise citizens in bleak times and motivate them and praised his consistent communication — this is the fourth time the PM has spoken to citizens in less than a fortnight.