NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he was sorry for the hardships caused by the national lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, but underlined that there was no other option in a “war like” situation to combat the highly infectious disease.Assuring people during his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ that India would win this war against coronavirus , Modi said, “I ask forgiveness from all citizens. And my ‘atma’ says you will definitely forgive me. Some decisions have had to be taken because of which you have to face many types of difficulties. Particularly when I see my poor brothers and sisters and I feel they must be thinking what sort of a Prime Minister (is he) for putting us in these troubles. I ask for their forgiveness in particular. It is possible many people are upset with me… I understand your problems. But India with its 130 crore population has no choice but to take the steps that have been taken.”Pm Modi said in Maan Ki Baat , “The fight with corona is a fight between life and death and we have to win this battle. That is why these tough steps were necessary. After seeing the rest of the world, it seemed there is no other way to keep you and your families safe.”He, however, stressed the need for utmost cooperation in strict adherence to the lockdown guidelines as this was the only way to save people and their family members.“Stay at home with your family, be careful and safe, we need to win this battle. And, we will win,” the PM said in his address where he dedicated the entire 36 minutes to the global pandemic.In context of the current lockdown, he rued that some people overstepped the law and broke rules wilfully as they were not “trying to understand the gravity of the matter”.“I will say to them that if they don’t comply with the lockdown rules, it will be difficult to save ourselves from the scourge of coronavirus. The world over, many people nursed this delusion… all of them are regretting now,” the PM said, referring to countries which lost many lives. He, however, did not take the name of any country.Taking full responsibility for the unprecedented decision, he said people must be wondering what kind of PM could throw his people into a situation like this, before proceeding to justify the countrywide shutdown, the first of its kind in modern history, by quoting Charak, the father of Ayurveda, who had said that prevention could nip a disease which, if not taken head on early, could become uncontrollable.During the programme, the PM interacted with two Covid-19 survivors (one each from Hyderabad and Agra) and two doctors (one each from Delhi and Pune) in conversations aimed at boosting morale as those he interacted with spoke about how they were cured and the medical professionals recounted the care they were taking of patients.Modi expressed anguish over reports of some of those asked to stay in home quarantine being ill-treated by others, pointing out that they had chosen isolation to protect society from the infection. “I am greatly pained to learn of these instances. This is very unfortunate. We need to understand that in the current circumstances, we need to ensure social distance, not human or emotional distance. These people are not criminals," he said. He also complimented nursing staff for their dedication and recalled the contributions of Florence Nightingale.Modi said, “We are able to fight a battle on such a massive scale only on account of the zeal and grit of frontline warriors like you... Be you a doctor, a nurse, a paramedic, Aasha, an ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) worker or sanitation worker.”Referring to them, Modi said the country was also concerned about their health. “Keeping that in mind, for around 20 lakh colleagues from these fields, the government has announced a health insurance cover of up to Rs 50 lakh, so that in this battle, you can lead the country with greater self-confidence,” he said.Noting the coincidence that the world was celebrating 2020 as the ‘International Year of the Nurse and Midwife’, he said the “selfless spirit of service” by nurses was beyond compare. “This year has come as a challenging examination for the entire nursing community... I believe all of you will not only clear the exam successfully, you will also save many lives,” the PM said while calling nurses the “embodiment of humanity”.