Minister for Fisheries and senior AIADMK leader D. Jayakumar on Monday said that the extension of the lockdown till the end of the month was “like a bitter pill”.
“We don’t like it but it is essential. The State government did not take the decision suo motu . It was a collective responsibility. We had considered the recommendations of medical experts,” he told The Hindu.
When asked why the State government did not wait for the Centre’s decision on the lockdown, despite having stated earlier that it will, he said, “Ultimately, people’s welfare comes first, and a decision has been taken accordingly.”
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A senior official said, “We had decided to wait for the PM’s decision, hoping that he would address the nation sooner. But as it turned out, they (the Centre) were waiting till the penultimate day of the lockdown. So, we decided to go ahead.”
CPI(M)’s warning
However, CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan was of the view that the government could not have decided against the Centre. He felt the announcement was perhaps made after “very much [receiving] concurrence” from the Centre. Mr. Balakrishnan, however, cautioned that the next 14 days would not be easy, since the general public was running out of money.
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Senior DMK leader Duraimurugan said the CM should have explained the reason behind his decision.