Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State unit president Chandrakant Patil on Friday demanded a ₹50,000-crore relief package for daily wage earners hit by the lockdown from the State government. Mr. Patil also expressed dissatisfaction with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for failing to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“Along the lines of the package announced by the Centre, the State government should also declare a big package to provide relief to daily wagers like autorickshaw drivers, domestic helps and others whose activities have come to a standstill owing to the lockdown. So far, the State has not given a single rupee to daily wage earners,” said Mr. Patil, at the party’s ‘Mera Angan, Mera Ranangan (my home, my battlefield) – Save Maharashtra’ campaign.
Protest in strongholds
Mr. Patil, who wore a black mask as a symbol of protest, took out a demonstration in his hometown of Kolhapur. Other BJP leaders, including Eknath Khadse, participated in the protest in their respective strongholds and held placards criticising the State’s performance.
Senior BJP leader and Pune MP Girish Bapat claimed his party was not interested in playing politics during a pandemic, but held the State government responsible for failing to control the spike in cases.
BJP activists take part in the Maharashtra Bachao Andolan at Khopat office in Thane on Friday.
He said, “We had not launched a single agitation against the government for the last two months since the start of the outbreak. We will continue to cooperate with the government. However, as elected representatives, it our duty to point out loopholes in handling this crisis and give them direction.”
Denying that there was a political colour to their protest, Mr. Bapat said the government had not yet announced any relief measures for daily wagers and demanded a monthly subsidy of ₹10,000 for them. Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol and Pune BJP unit chief Jagdish Mulik attributed the failure to check the rise in cases to an alleged lack of coordination between the city’s top authorities. However, the BJP, with over 100 corporators, has absolute majority in the municipal corporation.
‘Ludicrous allegations’
Ramesh Iyer, Pune city Congress general secretary and party spokesperson, said, “Mr. Bapat’s statements on the civic administration’s failure is ludicrous as the BJP dominates the civic body. Is the MP saying that his party colleagues are inefficient?”
Mr. Iyer wanted to know why the BJP remained silent so long and had launched an agitation at this critical moment. He said, “What has been Mr. Bapat’s contribution in checking the spread of the virus within Pune city? Despite being Pune MP, he was nowhere to be seen, and has woken up after 60 days. Why hasn’t he been helping the State government and local authorities by coordinating with the Centre?”
Mr. Iyer said senior BJP leaders had rarely ventured out to take stock of the situation in Pune’s red zones.
