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Mumbai: The ugly stand-off between the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over the midnight detention of Bruck Pharma director at Vile Parle police station over stockpile of Remdesivir injections has now snowballed into a major confrontation with the ruling Shiv Sena accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of hoarding and secretly trying to move the stock brought from the Gujarat based company. It further accused the BJP of playing filthy politics and playing with the lives of innocent people.
After a 45 minutes fracas between the police and former chief minister and state BJP leaders over the detention of the Pharma company executive, the unnamed company executive was released after it became known that the drug consignment was meant for distribution in Maharashtra.
Seeds of the ugly fracas were sown earlier in the day with senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Minister for Minority Affairs and national spokesperson Nawab Malik accusing the BJP led Central Government of preventing Pharma companies from distributing Remdesivir to Maharashtra.
He contended that 16 exporters of the now banned for export drug have 20 lakh vials of Remdesivir. Referring to the grim situation in the state regarding the availability of the drug, Malik warned that the state government would be compelled to seize the consignment of the drug meant for export and distribute the same locally to the needy. Malik termed the Centres move as regrettable and shocking.
In a counter-charge, BJPs former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis termed the detention of the Bruck Pharma executive as “an extremely shameful act”. In a late night issued statement, the senior BJP leader stated that the MVA government suddenly detained the officials of Bruck Pharma who was supposed to supply Remdesivir to Maharashtra.
He further contended that an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to one MVA minister called the official of Bruck Pharma in the afternoon and questioned the official how he could supply Remdesivir on the appeal made by the opposition and in the evening 10 policemen picked him up.
Fadnavis argued that the Pharma company official had taken all the necessary permissions from the Maharashtra and Daman administration, even the Union Minister had himself asked him to supply maximum Remdesivir to Maharashtra. Stating that the opposition did not want to politicise the issue, the former chief minister remarked that the MVA government is busy doing such cheap politics and that it was a matter of great shame and added that this was not the rule of law and was certainly not in the interest of Maharashtra.
If that was not enough the Shiv Sena in an alleged statement issued here on Sunday alleged that Vile Parle police station seized Rs 4.75 crore worth Remdesivir vials that were being secretly moved by a Gujarat based company. The Sena questioned as to how a private individual like Fadnavis procure Remdesivir stock from Gujarat when the sale is allowed only to the government?
Questioning the motives of Fadnavis, the Sena further wanted to know “Why didn’t inform the state government of the supplier and help procure the stock through state channels? In the midst of a severe shortage, was the BJP hoarding Rs 4.75 crores worth of Remdesivir in their party office (just like in Gujarat)? And most importantly – while Nawab Malik ji showed yesterday that the Central Government had stopped supplies of Remdesivir to Maharashtra government, then how was BJP’s Fadnavis allowed to procure it sneakily without informing the state government? That too stock worth Rs 4.75 crores?”
The Sena statement further remarked “It’s shameful that the Modi government is throttling supplies of Remdesivir to Maharashtra government while sneakily allowing Fadnavis & BJP to distribute it through their party office. This is politics of the filthiest kind where BJP is playing with the lives of innocent people”.
Yesterday reacting to NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik’s charge, Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya in a series of tweets remarked that the tweets posted by Malik were shocking. He said that the tweets of the NCP minister were full of half truths and lies and the threats issued are unacceptable. “He (Malik) is unaware of the ground situation. GoI has been in active contact with the officers of GoM and is assisting with supply of Remdesivir in every manner”.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) spokesperson Sachin Sawant remarked that the Modi government’s cruel nature of politics is a blot on humanity. He added that when the country was burning this modern-day Nero was busy electioneering. Add to that MPCC president Nana Patole further remarked that Modi’s desire was to indulge in election campaigning over the dead bodies of innocent people.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, MPCC spokesperson Sachin Sawant further expressed surprise that Fadnavis and leader of opposition in legislative council, Pravin Darekar were trying to put pressure on Mumbai police for the release of a businessman.
Justifying the police action, the MPCC spokesperson further wanted to know as to what wrong did the Mumbai police do when they came to know that 60,000 vials of Remdesivir were stockpiled at the exporter of Bruck Pharma. He added that it was imperative of the company to have informed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of stocks available with it.
Sawant further contended that the company official gave evasive replies to the police and turned up before the police two days after being summoned. He added that the state BJP leaders panicked and rushed to the aid of the company official.
