Chandrapur: Bitter rivalry between two Congress stalwarts came to fore, once again, during the party’s foundation day function on Monday when Former MP Naresh Puglia openly blamed his rival and district guardian minister Vijay Wadettiwar for failure of the administration in handling Covid situation and police department in controlling crime.
Puglia blamed Wadettiwar for high number of Covid deaths in government hospitals and staged a sit-in seeking intervention of chief minister in replacing the guardian minister of Chandrapur.
Puglia charged that 90% of Covid deaths in Chandrapur have taken place in government hospitals, owing to lack of doctors, medics and other facilities for Covid treatment.
“The guardian minister had made tall claims about recruiting doctors, building oxygen plants and increasing number of oxygen beds on last Independence Day. He has failed to stand up to his words even after nearly five months and poor patients who availed Covid treatment at government hospital lost their lives,” he said.
Puglia has already filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in high court against tattered Covid treatment facilities in Chandrapur.
In a letter sent to CM Uddhav Thackeray, Puglia has said that law and order has shattered in the district as crime rate and illegal businesses have increased manifold. He claimed incidents of gang wars, murders and waylaying have increased. Similarly, smuggling of coal and sand apart from peddling of narcotics like brown sugar and liquor has also shot up in the district. Illegal businesses like cock-fight, betting and gambling have flourished in last one year, while the administration and police department have remained mute spectator thanks to political pressure, said Puglia.
“Congress has 135-year-long tradition of standing up against injustice. Nearly 300 people, who could not afford costly private treatment, have died of Covid in the district because of lack of facility. It is high time to stand up against the person responsible for the deaths,” he said, justifying his stand against own party government.
Earlier, Puglia supporters had sent a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi ‘highlighting’ Wadettiwar’s failure and demanded his replacement.
NB—Photo sent on Whatsapp Group