Leader of opposition in the state Legislative Council and BJP leader Pravin Darekar on Saturday lashed out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for failing to effectively handle the COVID-19 crisis.
Darekar who was on a visit to review arrangements that were in place to combat the pandemic in the twin-city, has also levelled serious allegations of corruption. According to him, glaring disparities had been detected in the contracts awarded for the supply of food to hospitals, quarantine centre patients and even temporary shelter homes in Mumbai and other regions across the state.
“There is lack of coordination, and as a result, mismanagement rules the roost in the functioning of the government. One glaring example is the much-hyped announcement by the minister of deploying 10,000 State Transport buses to ferry stranded citizens to their hometowns in the state, free of cost. However, leave aside free rides, buses were not available, even as commuters were ready to pay for it. After grabbing power, the government seems to have conveniently forgotten the sons-of-the-soil. The public health system has completely collapsed due to the state government’s failures, as none of our advises were implemented,” charged Darekar.
He defended the ‘Maharashtra Bachao' agitation, launched on Friday by the BJP to register protest against MVA’s failure to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The crisis is serious and as a responsible Opposition it’s our duty to pinpoint shortcomings and wake the government up. The agitation was an eye-opener with no political agenda in it,” said Darekar who visited the civic headquarters, designated COVID-19 hospital and institutive quarantine unit along with mayor Jyotsna Hasnale, deputy mayor Hasmukh Gehlot and city BJP chief Hemant Mhatre.
