Koshyari’s office had announced that he was going to assess the situation along with Thackeray and senior bureaucrats.
The BJP has alleged that the Maharashtra CM has failed in discharging his duties. (File photo: PTI)
In yet another signal that all is not well in his relations with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday skipped a meeting called by Koshyari at Raj Bhavan to assess the government’s preparedness on handling the Covid-19 pandemic.
Koshyari’s office had announced that he was going to assess the situation along with Thackeray and senior bureaucrats. Interestingly, Shiv Sena secretary Milind Narvekar, who has also doubled up as Thackeray’s personal assistant, attended the meeting. Interestingly, the face off has become public since the day Thackeray was elected to Legislative Council.
Thackeray’s absence at the meeting is significant in the backdrop of the opposition BJP’s allegations against him. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Chandrakant Patil alleged that Thackeray was not serious with his job as the CM. The BJP has launched a statewide agitation titled as ‘Maharashtra Bachao’ (Save Maharashtra) claiming that the government has failed in handling the Covid-19 situation effectively.
“Uddhav ji is not willing to step out of his house to take stock of the situation,” Patil said. “There is a need to announce relief packages for the needy. However, he is pointing fingers to the Union government instead of taking a lead in implementing the Centre’s relief measures,” he said.
BJP member in Rajya Sabha Dr Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday demanded that President’s rule should be imposed in Maharashtra taking into consideration Thackeray’s failure. “If he (Thackeray) does not snap ties with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi the Congress and NCP will curtail his political career,” Swamy said.
The Shiv Sena looks at these developments as a semester plan to destabilise the Thackeray government. In a direct attack on Koshyari, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut earlier alleged that the Raj Bhavan had become a place of petty politics.
The tussle between Koshyari and Thackeray begun after the Governor refused to nominate him on the Legislative Council from his quota. Finally, Thackeray along with other eight people were elected unopposed to the seniors’ house on May 19 after the Election Commission of India held polls for the nine vacant seats.
