Fadnavis Targets Pawar, Asks Maharashtra Govt for Covid-19 Economic Package

Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday took a dig at NCP chief Sharad Pawar on his recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the economic stimulus package, and demanded a similar measure from the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government.

However, the Congress hit back asking why did MLAs of the Opposition party donated their local area development fund to the PM Cares Fund instead of to the CM Relief Fund if they are so concerned about Maharashtra, which has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

The NCP and the Congress are the constituents in the Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

"Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government should announce a package on the lines of the Centre. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has written several letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He should write one such letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray as well," Fadnavis said, after meeting state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari along with other BJP leaders.

In his recent letter to the PM, Pawar stated that the Centre's economic stimulus package lacked provisions to compensate the losses incurred by farmers during the lockdown period, which has left no cash in their hands.

He had also stated the package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was "more of the supply chain-centric" whose benefits will take longer time to reach farmers.

However, the Congress alleged that the BJP was anti-Maharashtra and politicising every issue.

"MLAs of the BJP donated their local area development fund to the PM Cares Fund. Why they did not donate the amount in the CM Relief Fund?" asked state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant.

He said that instead of supporting the state government in its fight against COVID-19, the BJP was bent on playing politics.

Sawant sarcastically said that the state government should rather not announce any economic package on the lines of the Union government because it is "full of hollow promises".

"The state has already undertaken several steps to ease problems of people. The Centre is creating problems in functioning of the state government," he alleged.