Coronavirus outbreak: Chidambaram unhappy with the lockdown extension, slams Centre

New Delhi, Apr 14: Minutes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension on lockdown till May 3, Congress leader P Chidambaram slammed the Centre and claimed that the poor have been left to fend for themselves.

Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram said, "We reciprocate the PM's New Year greetings. We understand the compulsion for extending the lockdown. We support the decision. CMs' demand for money elicited no response. Not a rupee has been added to the miserly package of March 25, 2020. From Raghuram Rajan to Jean Dreze, from Prabhat Patnaik to Abhijit Banerji, their advice has fallen on deaf years."

In another tweet, the Congress leader said, "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."

The Congress leader's reaction on PM Modi's decision came after the lockdown was extended until May 3 as the number of coronavirus cases in India crossed 10,000 despite a three-week shutdown.

In his third address to the nation, the Prime Minister said that the challenge was to prevent the virus from spreading to new parts of the country.

"Till May 3, every Indian will have to stay in lockdown. I request all Indians that we stop the coronavirus from spreading to other areas," he said.

On Saturday, PM Modi held consultations with the Chief Ministers through video-conferencing, in which the extension of the lockdown was discussed.