Maharashtra: MVA, BJP bicker over decision of allowing vaccinated passengers in locals

Union minister of state for Railways and former Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve said the Railways was not taken into confidence by the state government while announcing the decision

A day after the announcement of opening up of local trains for fully vaccinated citizens from August 15, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA)-led state government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Central government bickered over the decision. Union minister of state for Railways and former Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve said the Railways was not taken into confidence by the state government while announcing the decision. State officials said chief secretary Sitaram Kunte had spoken to senior railway officials before the announcement was made by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

CM has announced opening up the local trains for the fully vaccinated people from August 15. (HT PHOTO)

Danve on Monday said that though the Railways was ready to cater to the commuters as announced by Thackeray, it would have been better if the Railways administration was taken into confidence. He said that the state government should take the onus of checking the commuters at the entry points of the railway station to verify if they were fully vaccinated.

“We are not against operating the local trains for the general public as we have been doing it during lockdown, but had the state government taken us into confidence, it would have been in the interest of the people. The CM has announced the entry into local trains by checking a QR code, but the Railways does not have any such mechanism for verification. The vaccination programme has been implemented by the state and it is the responsibility of the state to verify the vaccination status of eligible commuters. Railways will provide the services, but giving entry at the stations after verification is the responsibility of the state government,” he said in Delhi.

Danve was reacting to Thackeray’s announcement of opening up the local trains for the fully vaccinated people from August 15.

According to an official from CMO, chief secretary Sitaram Kunte had spoken to general managers of the Western and Central Railways before the announcement. “Divisional railway managers, too, were informed about the decision. We have been holding meetings with railway officials continuously since the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020. They have, time and again, clarified to us that the decision of opening up of the local trains has to be taken by the state government and they were ready to implement it. Railway officials in Maharashtra are fully aware about the decision and the steps taken by us for its implementation,” he said.

Leaders from MVA have strongly reacted to the reaction given by the junior railway minister. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut questioned if the BJP assumes the railways as its personal property. “Railways is national property and does not belong to any specific political party. Is Railways the employee of BJP? The Maharashtra government is a law-abiding government and I am sure they must have followed all protocol while announcing the decision. The minister should first take proper information provided to him (by his ministry) on mobile and email. The decision of opening up local trains for the general public was keeping the interest of the public and the BJP had staged protests demanding for it,” he said.

Water resources minister and state NCP chief Jayant Patil said that the BJP should not indulge in one-upmanship over the decision. “The state government has been doing its best to keep Covid-19 under control by extending relaxations from the lockdown in a graded manner,” he said.