PM-CMs virtual meet underway after his Covid-era 'Team India' push amid Iran war
As India readies itself to face the challenge emerging out of West Asia, PM Modi's clarion call for 'Team India' underlines the country's unique polity, which is federal in form and unitary in spirit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening began a virtual meeting with Chief Ministers to review measures to ensure India’s fuel and commodity supplies remain resilient, as the war in West Asia enters its fifth week and concerns mount over Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the Centre to take multiple steps while states are expected to play a key role in implementing them on the ground.
The meeting comes days after PM Modi cautioned that the ongoing crisis in West Asia may have prolonged repercussions for India. He also recalled the Covid-19 pandemic from six years ago, saying that the Centre and states need to work in tandem like they had during that period.
“I appeal to all state governments to put special arrangements in place to ensure that the uninterrupted supply of essential commodities is not interrupted," he said while recalling the 'Team India' spirit demonstrated during the pandemic. "The same spirit must guide the nation now," he added.
'TEAM INDIA' DURING COVID CRISIS
Six years ago, when the world was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, PM Modi began holding regular virtual meetings with Chief Ministers. The first such meeting was held on March 20, 2020, just four days before India went into a three-week-long lockdown to control the spread of the virus.
Over the next one year, PM Modi held more than one dozen virtual meetings with Chief Ministers, ensuring close Centre-state coordination on tracking, testing and treating people infected by the virus. "Teamwork is the key to facing the challenge," he told Chief Ministers during a virtual meeting on May 11, 2020.
As the 'unlock' process began in June 2020, he began pitching for a "balanced approach" to revive the economy and deal with Covid-19. In his meetings with the Chief Ministers, PM Modi struck a collaborative tone, suggesting that the 'unlock' process will be determined on the basis of the suggestions by the states.
After India began its vaccination programme on January 16, 2021, PM Modi began stressing smoother vaccine coverage across states. In a bid to reduce the financial burden on states, PM Modi announced that the Centre would undertake free vaccinations for people above the age of 18. "No state government will have to spend anything on vaccines," he said on June 7, 2021.
PM MODI HAILED 'TEAM INDIA' IN 2021
A fortnight later, PM Modi hailed the close partnership between the Centre and states during the preceding year, adding that states were able to manage their economies well despite the pandemic-induced economic crisis globally.
"When we formulated our economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to ensure that our solutions did not follow a ‘one size fits all’ model... But, we had faith in the robustness of our federal polity, and we moved ahead in the spirit of Centre-State bhagidari," he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
He also thanked state governments for collaborating with the Centre to launch people-friendly policy reforms amid the health emergency. "This is a new model of ‘reforms by conviction and incentives," he said on June 22, 2021.
As India readies itself to face another global challenge, PM Modi's clarion call for 'Team India' underlines the country's unique polity, which is federal in form and unitary in spirit.