PM Modi apologises to people for hardships due to lockdown, says there was no other option to fight coronavirus

NEW DELHI: Underlining that the fight against Coronavirus is one between life and death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday apologised for inconvenience and hardship caused to people due to lockdown and said there was no other option to fight a war against COVID-19 in a country of over 130 crore people.

Assuring people during his monthly radio address, ‘Mann Ki Baat’, that India would win this war against coronavirus, Modi, however, sought utmost cooperation from them, asking for strictly adhering to the lockdown guidelines as it would be the only way to save them and their family members.

“Stay at home with your family, be careful and safe, we need to win this battle. And, we will win”, said the Prime Minister in the radio programme where he dedicated the entire 36-minutes of his speech and interactions on the issue of the global pandemic.

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In context of the current lockdown, he rued that there were some people who overstepped the law and broke rules deliberately as they were not “trying to understand the gravity of the matter”.

“I will say to them that if they don’t comply with the lockdown rule, it will be difficult to save ourselves from the scourge of the Coronavirus. The world over, many people nursed this delusion….all of them are regretting now,” said the Prime Minister, referring to countries which lost many lives. He, however, did not t