Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to the migrant labourers to stay where they are and not to go home. He assured to pay rent to landlords if the tenants are unable to pay it.

“I want to appeal to them with folded hands when the Prime Minister announced lockdown, he said ‘jo jahan hai wo wahi rahe (please stay wherever you are). This is the lockdown mantra. If we don’t follow this, we, the country will fail in the fight against coronavirus,” he said.

“A lot of people are going back to their native places in several states,” he said.

“If two or four people have corona, they will spread to others. You will also be infected. If you go to your village, your villagers will be infected. If this spreads in the country completely, it would be a difficult task to control it,” he added.

Kejriwal also told about the arrangements being made for people to live in government schools. “It is our duty to provide shelter to every citizen,” he said.

After Centre government’s move to telecast epic mythology Ramayana and Mahabharata on national television in the lockdown period, Arvind Kejriwal proposed the idea of reciting Bhagwat Geeta in this period.

“At this time, staying back at home is itself patriotism. There are still 18 days left for the lockdown. If you feel good, then you can also do what my family is doing — recite Gita. There are 18 chapters in Bhagwad Gita and you should read one chapter a day. It takes only half an hour,” he suggested.

Delhi government had come under harsh criticism after the migrant labourers started plying towards their hometowns. It was alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal government has not made proper arrangements for the people during the lockdown.

Last evening, a herd of citizens were seen at Anand Vihar Bus terminal trying to board buses to their home towns.

Today, the country has entered into the fifth day of its lockdown due to spread of novel coronavirus. Earlier in the day, the Centre has also asked the States to cease all its borders to restrict the entry of migrant labourers and also suggested a 14-day quarantine for them.