Grateful that CMs understood importance of lockdown to fight COVID-19: Chidambaram

Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday said that he was "grateful" that many chief ministers across the country have understood the importance of imposing a lockdown in order to fight coronavirus.

"For nearly a week, I have pleaded for a lockdown throughout the country for 2-4 weeks. My plea was met with silence and, in some cases, by derisive trolls," he tweeted.

"I am grateful that many CMs have finally understood the imperative of a lockdown. They should go further and lockdown all towns and cities in their States and stop nearly all public and private transport," he added

He further went on to say that doing a lockdown after one month will have "serious and unmanageable consequences".

He urged the government to learn the lessons from Italy and suggested that piecemeal measures will lag behind the spread of the disease.

He urged the government to "Act boldly, act now".

He added: "There will be massive economic pain. But it is possible to handle the economic consequences than the loss of numerous lives.