Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked citizens to strike spoons against plates to show their gratitude to health workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, he announced a 21-day lockdown sending people scurrying for supplies. A couple of days later, he apologised to the nation for the inconvenience.

On Friday, Modi asked the country to turn off lights for nine minutes at 9 pm on Sunday, April 5, and hold diyas, candles, or flash cell phone torches.

Like with his earlier appeals, BJP workers lapped up the idea, with some even giving it mythological and numerological context. Others saw in it an honest intent to keep up the spirits of holed-up people. But there were also dissenting voices, which wanted the PM to say something concrete on the real issue, at least in his latest address to the nation.