No time to lose, time to act fast: Chidambaram to PM on coronavirus

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said the war against coronavirus cannot be fought with "moral armaments" and that lockdown was the only solution.

After he supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the steps suggested by him in his address to the nation on Thursday, the Congress leader said the PM must take tough social and economic measures and he should act boldly and not waste any time.

"ICMR says that the disease is still at Stage 2 (local transmission) in India. This is the moment to act. Let us not allow this moment to pass without decisive action and regret later," he tweeted.

He said he had offered support to the prime minister's announcements yesterday, "but I am absolutely certain that the PM will have no option but to come back with tougher social and economic measures".

"Yesterday, I got the impression that PM was testing the waters. He should act boldly. The war against coronavirus cannot be fought with moral armaments," he said on Twitter.