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BJP steps up attack on government over Lockdown 3.0 in Pune
Calling the lockdown as an ad hoc approach and confusion between opening up and restrictions, Sahasrabuddhe in his letter to the chief minister said the government is taking decisions arbitrarily with “safe-play”
If residents were angry due to sudden announcement of lockdown in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was also quick in its response.
Several BJP leaders, including party national vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, city MP Girish Bapat and Shivajinagar legislator Siddharth Shirole said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has no concrete plans to deal with the crisis.
Besides Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, other cities to go or already under lockdown are Thane, Aurangabad, Nanded, Solapur and Amravati.
Calling the lockdown as an ad hoc approach and confusion between opening up and restrictions, Sahasrabuddhe in his letter to the chief minister said the government is taking decisions arbitrarily with “safe-play”.
“Many believe that this re-lockdown in just few days after declaration of ‘Mission Begin Again’ smacks of utter confusion at various levels of administration. It is believed that these decisions are taken arbitrarily as they can be described as case of convenient safe-play,” said Sahasrabuddhe.
Shirole said the city has reported maximum Covid-19 positive cases after Mumbai and Thane, but the CM is yet to visit the city or have not acknowledged the situation here. Leadership that is paramount in times of such crisis is missing.
“Let alone a visit to #Pune, Hon CM @OfficeofUT ji has not had a single update or review call / video conference with elected representatives of the City who are working on the ground during this unprecedented Pandemic. Even emails from me are yet to receive a reply. Why is the leader of our state Hon. CM @OfficeofUT ji ignoring #Pune, a city closest to his home, and has one of the highest mortality & infection growth rates in India ? Why has the CM not visited #Pune or held a conference call with local representatives in past 100 days?,” said Shirole in series of tweets.
The announcement of lockdown made in Pune by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar came just days after NCP chief Sharad Pawar advocated resumption of activity in the state. While taking the decision, Ajit did not consult any public representatives in Pune, angering many in the BJP.
“Ajit Pawar’s decision is unilateral and makes no sense. He should have at least discussed the issue with MLAs and MP before going ahead with lockdown measure. People are already frustrated because of poor economic activity,” said city MP Girish Bapat.
