Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that his party was not a key player in running the Maharashtra government but was only supporting the same. Gandhi’s remarks further fuelled speculations that the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is struggling amid the coronavirus outbreak in the state.
The Congress leaders in the MVA government hold key ministerial posts but Rahul Gandhi said that his party was only supporting the government in Maharashtra but was not a key decision-maker in the state.
Gandhi’s remarks come amid the allegations of “ineffective handling” of COVID-19 crisis against the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra. However, the Congress leader defended the state government saying that the COVID-19 cases were on the rise in Mumbai because it is a well-connected city.
Furthermore, in his statement, Rahul Gandhi said that Congress is a key player in Rajasthan, Punjab and Chhattisgarh and that it was doing better wherever it is running its own government.
“We are supporting the government in Maharashtra but we are not the key decision-maker in Maharashtra. We are decision-makers in Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Puducherry. There is a difference between running the government and supporting it,” Rahul Gandhi said in a virtual presser.
With his remarks, Gandhi appeared to be distancing himself and his party from the Shiv Sena-led MVA government amid the COVID-19 crisis. His statements have added fuel to the fire of coalition crisis rumours in Maharashtra.
Earlier, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, but the meeting was labelled as a courtesy call by NCP leader Praful Patel who accompanied Pawar at Raj Bhavan.
Moreover, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also refuted the speculations of a rift between the MVA government and informed that hours after meeting the Governor, Pawar met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for about hour and a half. However, Raut did not reveal the contents of the meeting but said that the MVA government was strong and steady.
Earlier, BJP MP Narayan Rane met the governor and demanded the imposition of President’s rule in Maharashtra citing the “failure” of Uddhav Thackeray government in handling the COVID-19 crisis. However, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis distanced the party from the same.
Also Read - BJP Not Trying To Destabilise MVA Government In Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis Refutes Speculations
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