Shiv Sena objects to Governor holding meeting on coronavirus

The Shiv Sena on Friday took objection to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari holding a meeting with administrative officials on steps being taken to curb the spread of coronavirus, saying “parallel governance” will create confusion.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the ruling party said in the prevailing “war-like situation” (a refernce to the coronavirus crisis), there should be a single centre of command to give directives to the administration.

“The Prime Minister at the Centre and Chief Minister in the state (should have that authority). Even at the video conference meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, the Shiv Sena and NCP president Sharad Pawar told Modi the entire country was united under his leadership to fight the virus,” the Marathi daily said.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Pawar had attended the meeting from Mumbai.

While lauding Thackeray for his handling of the coronavirus situation, Pawar apprised Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah about the Governor’s role (in holding the meeting with officials), the editorial said.

“There was no bitterness. If someone runs a parallel government, it would lead to confusion. If a senior leader like Pawar feels this way, then the matter should be taken seriously,” it said.

The newspaper said the Governor is known for his zeal for work as in the past he has been an RSS pracharak and a BJP worker.

“The state has got a Governor who does not follow any time schedule and people experienced this when they saw Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar being sworn in early morning (last year),” the Sena mouthpiece quipped.

The editorial also slammed the opposition BJP for frequently going to the Raj Bhavan to criticise the Sena-NCP- Congress government.

Earlier this week, Koshyari held a meeting through video conferencing with district collectors and divisional commissioners.

The meeting discussed availability of medical facilities and food items for labourers, migrants and homeless persons, who have been badly affected by the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown.

It also discussed measures for sale of agriculture produce, involvement of NGOs in relief efforts and tracking people who returned from the religious gathering held in Nizamuddin, Delhi, last month, among other issues.

The meeting was attended by divisional commissioners, additional commissioner of BMC and collectors of ten districts.-PTI news