MVA Govt cannot function amidst continued absence of Uddhav Thackeray, says state BJP president Chandrakant Patil

Administration under MVA in shambles, no Speaker appointed for ten months’

Special Correspondent

@the_news_21

Pune: Amidst reports of his lackluster performance as state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, Chandrakant Patil on Sunday launched a broadside against the Maharashtra government. Patil contended that the ruling Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government cannot function amidst continued absence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. He further expressed dissatisfaction over the Speaker’s post in the State Legislative Assembly lying vacant for the last ten months now.  

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has been recuperating following a cervical spine surgery and has been conducting business of the state virtually. The CM’s indisposition has sparked speculation of a possible change in the leadership of the State.

While refusing to directly comment on this, Patil said that this was not the way in which the State administration should function. 

The state BJP president remarked, “While I pray for Uddhav Thackeray’s speedy recovery, a state cannot be run in this fashion… he has not handed over the charge of his post to anyone else and the CM’s work has been stalled for the last 19 days. The Assembly has not had a Speaker for the last ten months. That is not how the government works”.

Arguing that if a Chief Minister is unwell for even three days, the work ought to be handed to a ‘caretaker’, Patil wanted to know as to why was the Chief Minister conducting the cabinet virtually. 

Patil further wanted to know, “Why has the upcoming winter session of the state legislature been curtailed to just five days? As it is, we have not had too many sessions owing to the pandemic. Why is session not being held in Nagpur (winter session) but in Mumbai? The CM is not working for 19 days. Who will sign over important papers? How long can the government function in this manner?”

The state BJP president brushed aside rumours that the BJP’s central leadership was not happy with his performance and that of the party’s state unit. Patil had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. 

On the defensive Patil remarked, “I think it is quite obvious from his (Shah’s) body language when we were meeting that he is happy with the BJP’s work in Maharashtra as a solid opposition”. He further disclosed that Shah who was to visit Maharashtra this month had postponed his visit and was likely to visit the city by the middle of next month. 

“A lot of things will happen on December 11,” remarked Patil cryptically.  

Censuring the ruling Sena, NCP and Congress led MVA government for its alleged ‘failures’ following two years of its completion, Patil argued that the administration of the Thackeray government has “completely collapsed”.  

“The MVA has failed on the Maratha reservation issue and the OBC matter…at least a fourth of its ministers are under the scanner of some central agency or the other…this is a government that indulges in cover-ups. Be it the state transport employees strike or farmers’ issues, this government has not paid attention to any section of the society during its tenure,” remarked Patil.