Leader of Opposition in the state legislative council Pravin Darekar from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday lashed out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for its failure in effectively handling 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 leveled serious allegations of corruption, as according to him glaring disparities had been detected in the contracts awarded for the supply of food to hospitals, quarantine centre for 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 migrants 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 advice were implemented,” charged Darekar, while defending ‘Maharashtra Bachao' agitation launched on Friday by the BJP to register protest against MVA’s failure to handle the pandemic. “The crisis is serious and, as a responsible opposition, it’s our duty to pinpoint shortcomings and wake the government. 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.
