The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government is being targetted by the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. On Monday, BJP MP Narayan Rane met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and demanded the imposition of President's Rule in the state.
Amid the reports of BJP trying to destabilise the MVA Govt, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday slammed the Opposition and said that the Maharashtra Govt is strong and rejected any suggestions regarding President's rule in the state.
Meanwhile, adding fuel to the fire in an already politically-blazing state, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress- one of the three parties of the MVA - is only supporting the government and isn't a key decision maker. Gandhi said, "I would like to make a differentiation here. We are supporting the government in Maharashtra, but we are not the key decision maker in Maharashtra. We are decision-makers in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Puducherry. There is a difference between running the government and supporting it."
"I said very categorically that Maharashtra is an important state, Mumbai is the financial capital and there is a lot of attention, they have a difficult situation and lots of attention needs to be given to the state by the centre," he added in an online press conference.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Congress President Balasaheb Thorat said, "BJP leaders in the state are greedy for power. They cannot think of helping the government in the current situation. They are trying to destabilise the government."
When asked why no Congress leader is seen around chief minister Uddhav Thackeray or NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Thorat said, "We are in touch with each other over phones. Nothing should be read into such appearances or disappearances".
(With inputs from Agencies)
