Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday advised chief ministers about the need for a “staggered re-emergence of the population” after the lockdown ends, indicating certain restrictive measures may remain in place even after April 14.

Modi later tweeted he would share a “video message” with “fellow Indians” on Friday morning, generating another round of suspense over what he might announce.

“At 9am tomorrow morning, I’ll share a small video message with my fellow Indians,” he posted.

Government sources said that while there were no plans yet to extend the lockdown beyond April 14, given the economic costs, the final call had not been taken yet.

“A call will be taken based on a review in the last week of the lockdown,” an official said.

Modi had during his videoconference with a group of chief ministers indicated that the Centre wanted neither to continue the lockdown beyond April 14 nor to allow normal business after that date, a government release suggested.

“(The) Prime Minister said that it is important to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once (the) lockdown ends,” it said.

“He asked (the) states to brainstorm and send suggestions for the exit strategy. He reiterated the importance of social distancing in preventing the spread of Covid-19.”

A tweet posted from Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu’s Twitter handle, which was later deleted, seemed to capture Modi’s position in a nutshell.

“....Lockdown will end on April 15 next. But it doesn’t mean free will to move out on the streets,” said the tweet, put out even before the videoconference had ended.

Khandu later deleted the tweet, explaining in another tweet: “The tweet with respect to lockdown period was uploaded by an officer whose comprehension in Hindi was limited. And therefore same was removed.”

Sources said Delhi had asked Khandu to delete the tweet since the meeting was not a public one.

During the videoconference, Modi stressed that the states should over the next few weeks focus on “testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine”, the government release said.

He also underscored the necessity to maintain the supply of “essential medical products” and the “availability of raw materials for manufacture of medicines and medical equipment”.

Opposition chief ministers, particularly those from Congress-ruled states and Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, however, flagged the shortage of testing kits and other key medical equipment. They sought financial assistance from the Centre to deal with the pandemic.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot later posted tweets highlighting the issues he had raised at the meeting.

“Central government should implement Inter State Supply Chain Protocol asap so that there is smooth supply of medicine, equipment & essential items,” he posted.

“Central govt shd coordinate efforts to procure PPE (personal protective equipment). Currently all states are separately purchasing PPE & ventilators to deal with Corona.”

Gehlot urged Modi to buy all the equipment through the Indian Council of Medical Research, arguing that separate purchase by individual states would lead to variations in quality and prices.

He also suggested that the states be granted “one lakh crore” rupees to deal with the outbreak and the economic challenges of the lockdown.

“It (each state’s share of the grant) can be based on number of patients in each state, on population or on GST council guidelines.”

Vijayan told reporters he had urged the Centre to fly in “rapid test kits” from Hong Kong and asked that Karnataka’s borders with Kerala be reopened for the smooth supply of essentials.

The government release was silent on the points raised by the Opposition chief ministers, but sources said Modi had promised the states all necessary help and assured them there would be no shortage of testing kits.

Modi told the chief ministers that any laxity could be dangerous, stressed the precariousness of the global situation, and cited the speculation about a possible second wave of the outbreak in some countries.

He said that states facing a shortage of doctors should tap into the “resource pool of ayush (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha, homoeopathy) doctors, organise online training and utilise paramedical staff, NCC and NSS volunteers”, the release said.

Home minister Amit Shah, who has been keeping a low profile despite being the nodal minister assigned to handle the crisis, conducted the videoconference. Other key central ministers too participated.

Shah, who has also drastically cut his presence on Twitter, later accused the Congress of “petty politics”, responding to Sonia Gandhi’s remarks about the lack of planning behind the lockdown hurting the migrant workers.

Ramayan

Prasar Bharati tweeted in the evening: A 5.38pm tweet from Prasar Bharati seemed almost to turn the announcement about Modi’s video message into a promo for a TV show many in the ruling establishment have been plugging.

“In view of the Important Video Message from the Hon’ble PM tomorrow morning, the telecast of Ramayan on @DDNational will be delayed by a few minutes,” the tweet said. Ramayan is normally telecast from 9am.