Lockdown is not a solution to curb the spread of coronavirus, said Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil a day after state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray hinted at the possibility of more restrictions to be imposed.
Patil said not only BJP, but all traders and workers from unorganised sectors will oppose the lockdown.
"Lockdown is not an answer to the increasing Covid-19 cases in the state. If the lockdown is imposed, you (state government) will not give any package (for relief to affected people). How people lived in the last one year cannot be understood by sitting inside 'Matoshree'," Patil was quoted as saying by PTI.
'Matoshree' is the residence of CM Thackeray in the Bandra area of Mumbai.
Patil said there is no objection to night curfew, but activities during the day should be continued.
"I am okay with the night curfew. Nobody goes out at night. There are some people with you (in state government) who go out as they want nightlife," the BJP leader said in a veiled attack at state minister Aaditya Thackeray, who had pitched for the revival of nightlife in Mumbai.
"If you really want to impose lockdown, announce a package and give ₹5,000 per month to every worker from the unorganised sector," Patil said.
Testing, tracing and treatment of Covid-19 patients are the keys to check the spread of the viral infection, but lockdown is not an answer, he asserted.
Traders in some parts of Maharashtra on Saturday staged protests against the new restrictions imposed by the state government in view of the surging Covid-19 cases.
"We can no longer survive if business activities are suspended again. We are ready to follow Covid-19 protocol but business activities should not be stopped," a trader in Beed was quoted as saying by PTI.
BJP leader and leader of opposition in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar came out in support of the traders.
"It is absolutely wrong to implement measures that will hamper business activities," he said.
"Some business activities have picked up pace and their business was settling down. If we slow it down again, the consequences will be severe this time," Darekar added.
Strict, lockdown-like restrictions have been imposed in districts such as Beed, Latur and Osmanabad.
The administration has also imposed a night curfew across the state from 8 pm to am.
Cases in Maharashtra
Maharashtra on Sunday reported 108 coronavirus-related deaths besides 40,414 new cases of infection which is the highest since the start of the pandemic, a health official said.
The death toll in the state on Saturday rose to 54,181.
As many as 17,874 patients were discharged, taking the tally of recoveries to 2,33,2453.
There are 3,25,901 active cases in the state now.
The state had reached the 26 lakh-mark of cases only on 25 March.
Mumbai on Sunday reported the highest rise in Covid-19 cases so far by adding 6,923 new infections, taking the tally to 3,98,674.
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