Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
After 16 Raj Bhavan staffers tested positive for Covid-19, Shiv Sena leaders Sunday urged Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to understand the seriousness of the pandemic and reconsider his insistence to conduct the final year university examinations.
“The Governor should take it [the coronavirus outbreak] seriously. Destiny has shown that his insistence on conducting the final year university exams is wrong as it would put the lives of the students and their parents at risk. So, he should now reconsider his stand on the exams,” Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.
On Saturday, at least 14 people who stay and work on the Raj Bhavan campus tested positive for coronavirus disease. Two others had tested positive earlier this week.
In the last week of June, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting to instruct national-level apex authorities to endorse the decision of the state government regarding cancellation of final year or final semester examinations of professional courses and to issue necessary guidelines to universities. The University Grants Commission, however, said all universities must hold final year/ semester exams by the end of September, either in offline or online mode.
Uday Samant, Shiv Sena leader and state Minister for Higher and Technical Education, too, Sunday urged the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) to reconsider the decision to conduct final year university exams. “The coronavirus has entered safe places, like Raj Bhavan and (Amitabh) Bachchan’s home. Will the HRD ministry and UGC understand at least now that conducting the exams means playing with the lives of students,” Samant tweeted.
In wake of the reports of a political crisis in the Congress-led Rajasthan government, Raut said there is no threat to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra and it will complete five years. “Maharashtra is not Goa or Madhya Pradesh. Let them [the BJP] come up with any mahurat [auspicious time], the MVA government will complete the five-year term. Rather than telling us daily, they should topple the government and then tell us,” said Raut.