'Broken very important protocol': When PM Modi schooled Kejriwal for stooping low and using PM-CM conference to play politics!

New Delhi, April 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacting with the Chief Ministers of 10 states which are the worst-affected COVID-19 states, interrupted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal raised an objection over the discussion being televised by his office.

 

Amid an unprecedented Covid situation in the country, PM Modi called a meeting with chief ministers of states with high burden of coronavirus cases. However, his discussion with Kejriwal went live on TV for some time which later erupted controversies.

 

 

Kejriwal was speaking about the capital's crippling oxygen crisis. "Will people of Delhi not get oxygen if there is no oxygen-producing plant here? Please suggest whom should I speak to in Central Govt when an oxygen tanker destined for Delhi is stopped in another state?", he said. Further, he said, "My belief is that if there is a national plan against Covid, then the centre and all state governments can work together in that direction. Our departed souls...," Kejriwal said, but was stopped as PM Modi cut in.

 

 

"What is happening... this is strictly against our tradition, our protocol... that some Chief Minister is showing a live telecast of an in-house meeting. This is not appropriate, we should always maintain restraint," he said to the Delhi Chief Minister, who then apologised with folded hands. "Ok sir, we will be careful in future."

 

Realising that he had committed a major mistake stepping over the line, he said, “If I have committed any mistake, if I have said anything untoward, if there was anything wrong with my conduct, I apologise for it.”

 

 

According to the sources, "For the first time, private conversations of PM's meeting with Chief Ministers is being televised. His entire speech was not meant for any solution but for playing politics and evading responsibility."

 

 

The Chief Minister's office later put out a statement: "Today, the Chief Minister's address was shared live because there has never been any instruction, written or verbal, from the central government that the said interaction could not be shared live. There have been multiple occasions of similar interactions where matters of public importance which had no confidential information were shared live. However, if any inconvenience was caused we highly regret that."

 

Apart from the PM Modi and CMs, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, and officials of the Health Minister were present at the meeting along with the Chief Ministers of the various states.

 

 

The country is currently witnessing a lethal second COVID-19 wave, with many hospitals in states, facing acute oxygen shortages. As many as 2,263 deaths and 3,32,730 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the country in the last 24 hours - the highest single-day spike since the pandemic broke out last year. This is the second consecutive day that the country has reported over 3 lakh cases.