Prime Minister Narendra Modi is famous for his oratorical skills and his deep connection with the Indian audience. Yet soon after his prime...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is famous for his oratorical skills and his deep connection with the Indian audience. Yet soon after his prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday, announcing a 21-day lockdown to battle the coronavirus crisis, Modi had to post a tweet saying, in all caps: “THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO PANIC.”
My fellow citizens,
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 24, 2020
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO PANIC.
Essential commodities, medicines etc. would be available. Centre and various state governments will work in close coordination to ensure this.
Together, we will fight COVID-19 and create a healthier India.
Jai Hind!
That is the sort of message that only needs to be delivered, in that fashion, when people already are panicking.
Indeed, across India, grocery stores and neighbourhood shops were inundated by residents rushing to buy essential goods before the three-week lockdown began at midnight. In doing so, they were also endangering the very aim of the shutdown – social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.
Modi and other politicians tried to calm nerves after the speech, but it was hard not to lay the blame at the prime minister’s feet. Over a 30-minute address, Modi told Indians over and over again that they would have to stay...
