Unrest among Congress-NCP against CM Thackeray’s ‘dictatorship’

Sharad Pawar advises Uddhav about how to tackle the pandemic situation

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar on Friday stepped in to educate Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on how to tackle crises as the world is passing through the devastating Covid-19 pandemic. Sources disclosed that Pawar senior shared his vast administrative experience while dealing with such difficulties when he was the Chief Minister of the state. However, during this meeting that lasted for more than an hour, it is claimed that Uddhav Thackeray has not given any consent to resolve the resentment amongst the NCP-Congress ministers about his ‘dictatorial’ style of functioning.  

Thackeray who believes in working as per his own attitude and gets done whatever he believes is good for the interest of the state. He has elevated Ajoy Mehta – the person who is on radar of the Congress-NCP ministers – as his Principal Advisor. Thackeray and Mehta have set a target to gain control over the Coronavirus pandemic. On the other hand, ministers from allies of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) wanted to replace some officials from their departments and get in those officials and bureaucrats who will work for them and to the liking of these ministers. 

A Sena insider while revealing the details of the discussions in the meeting between Thackeray and Pawar disclosed that the NCP chief shared his experience with Thackeray about how he had dealt with natural calamities being the head of the state in past. 

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The sources claimed Pawar gave an example of the Latur earthquake, Mumbai bomb blast and many others. Pawar suggested to Thackeray about how to gain control over the Covid-19 pandemic. “Pawar had recently visited Nisarg cyclone-affected Konkan region and gave suggestions to Thackeray on how the state should provide relief aid to Konkan,” said the Sena source.

The NCP source, however, claimed that Pawar advised Thackeray to take local political leaders and ministers in the government into confidence, rather of bureaucrats and government officials. “Leaders have a grass root base and they obtain feedback from local people. So they have a larger picture of casualties due to natural calamities. On the contrary, bureaucrat sits in offices and assume what relief has to be given to affected people without having any understanding of the ground reality,” said the NCP source.

The common objection of Congress-NCP ministers is that Uddhav works like a dictator. He does not take his cabinet colleagues into confidence before taking and executing any decision. The recent decision of imposing two-kilometer radius constraint of travel for citizens and imposing rigorous lockdown in major cities like Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath, Badlapur, Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar without giving a prior notice to the local residents made Congress-NCP unhappy.

Sources said that although Pawar senior brought this unrest to the notice of Uddhav who while paying attention, did not make any commitment. The sources claimed, Thackeray informed Pawar that his emphasis is to control the spread of Coronavirus and the rest of the subjects are of secondary importance to him.

Uddhav said that he wants to set a task force not only in metro cities but also in small municipal councils or small towns where the Corona is not yet under control. 

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Balasaheb Thorat, revenue minister and Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader along with Ashok Chavan, former chief minister and present minister for Public Works Department (PWD) had recently met Thackeray to apprise him of their difficulties and dissatisfaction with him. Thackeray had postponed meeting with these ministers for four days and asked them to meet first Anil Desai, secretary of Shiv Sena and Member of Rajya Sabha, before meeting him. 

Sources in the Sena disclosed that the Congress wished to replace a secretary who did not permit the Congress minister to transfer some ‘unwanted’ officials from their department. “Thackeray too informed all ministers that transfer is a secondary issue for him and he will not allow any minister to indulge in such decisions which may stamp the Thackeray government as ‘corrupt’ government. He doesn’t want to give the opposition any chance to discredit his government,” said the Sena sources.  

For Congress and NCP, though Uddhav Thackeray may appear like a dictator, these party leaders, even Pawar senior have no other option like pulling out from the government that will lead to the collapse of Thackeray government before it can complete its tenure, the sources claimed.