Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, took a dig at Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government and accused it of failure in handling COVID-19 situation effectively. Interacting with mediapersons at airport here on Saturday, Fadnavis referred to Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister, who addressed the people on Friday. “If MVA Government wants another lockdown, then it must first plan on how to help citizens of Maharashtra in such difficult times,” he said.

 

According to Fadnavis, the best way to tackle COVID-19 pandemic was to not criticise the Opposition or experts, but to analyse insetad on what the Government itself was doing and keep adding to the efforts. “If CM Uddhav Thackeray wants to compare Maharashtra pandemic situation with other nations just to impose another lockdown, we also need to look at what those Governments have done for their citizens,” said the senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Many States in India also have given various kinds of assistance to the citizens. But, he alleged, Maharashtra is the only State that has not given any kind of assistance to its people during COVID-19 pandemic. Asked about the comment of Jitendra Awhad, senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party, that Centre had not done anything for Maharashtra, Fadnavis said that ‘some people’ were suffering from ‘memory loss’.

 

According to Fadnavis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given Rs 20 lakh crore ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ package and provided relief to citizens of the country. “But, Awhad and the likes have forgotten this quickly just to misguide the people,” he remarked. The former Chief Minister also visited Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and took stock of the situation. Speaking to mediapersons after the visit, Fadnavis said that he had discussed the issues with GMCH officers, who informed him about augmentation of facilities.

 

“We have assured our co-operation in the efforts in tackling pressure situation created by COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the MVA Government needs to focus on reducing death rate in cities like Nagpur and sort out beds management issue,” he said. Besides, Fadnavis said that he had suggested to the Dean and other senior officers to make videos to enlighten people about new strain of COVID-19, need for going to hospital in time, symptoms, and exercising precautions.