With the death toll in the Malvani hooch tragedy crossing the 100-mark on Monday, Opposition leaders trained their guns on the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena government in the State demanding the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and State Excise Minister Eknath Khadse.
By late Monday evening, 102 persons lost their lives and another 46 continued to recuperate in hospital.
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Attacking Mr. Fadnavis, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said the Chief Minister and the Excise Minister should take responsibility for the tragedy and quit.
“Since the Home Department is with the Chief Minister, he also has to take the moral responsibility. Even as the death toll was mounting, the other day the Chief Minister was busy doing yoga,” said Mr. Nirupam. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, meanwhile, demanded the resignation of Mr. Khadse and also demanded that the authorities of the municipal Shatabdi Hospital be booked for homicide as many hospitalised there after consuming spurious alcohol lost their lives due to negligence.
Mr. Khadse advocated a harsher law to deal with the menace with provisions to ensure that those arrested for distilling and selling illicit liquor would not get bail for at least for one year.
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