People across the country switched off lights in their houses and lit lamps at their doors and balconies in solidarity with the rest of the country in combating COVID-19 at the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Modi had, in a video message last week, asked Indians to light a lamp or flash a torch from their mobile phone at 9 p.m. on Sunday for nine minutes. The Prime Minister lit a lamp at his official residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg and tweeted a Sanskrit verse, seeking health and prosperity for all and the defeat of all enemies.
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Mr. Modi wore a white south Indian mundu (dhoti) and an Assamese gamocha (towel) and lit a traditional oil lamp from south India. This was to convey, sources said, solidarity with all corners of the country.
President Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Savita Kovind also lit lamps as did Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu. Several political party leaders, including YSRCP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Eddapadi Palaniswami, joined in.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan lit a lamp along with AIIMS doctors and staff, who