Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with Chief Ministers of all States through a video-conference on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet on Sunday.
With exactly a week to go before the third phase of the lockdown ends on the midnight of May 17, Mr Modi will be meeting the Chief Ministers for the fifth time.
Exit policy
Apart from discussing a possible exit policy, the meeting will also discuss the lockdown’s impact on the economy.
“PM @narendramodi to hold the 5th meeting via video-conference with state Chief Ministers tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM,”said a tweet of the PMO.
Also read: Coronavirus | Most CMs want Modi to be cautious on lifting lockdown, says Puducherry CM
The Centre is yet to spell out its plans post May 17 but is expected to announce further easing of restrictions to restart economic activities.
The announcement came after Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba reviewed the status and management of the coronavirus [Covid-19] pandemic in different States with the Chief Secretaries via video-conferencing.
Monday’s meeting is expected to be a long one, broken into two sessions, as the Prime Minister is expected to hear the views of all the CMs before deciding on the next move.
Also read: Coronavirus | PM should talk to CMs as a colleague, says Rahul Gandhi
At the last meeting on April 27 , only nine CMs got an opportunity to speak while a few others gave their views in writing.
In the past couple of days, a few Congress CMs have written to the Prime Minister urging the Centre to let States decide on designating affected zones — green, orange and red — which will be the basis of restarting economic activities.
“We need to decentralise power in dealing with the virus. If we keep this fight in PMO, we will lose. The PM must devolve power... trust chief ministers and chief ministers (CMs) have to trust district magistrates,” former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had said last Friday at an online press meet.
