PUNE: Sitting at home in Matoshree, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray does not understand the adverse impact of a lockdown on citizens. It is not the solution and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will oppose it by taking to the streets if it is imposed under the garb of controlling Covid-19 cases, BJP’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil said on Monday.
He was speaking to reporters after meeting Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta for a police chowkey in Happy Colony in Kothrud.
“We will strongly oppose any move of the state government to impose a lockdown in the state because of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases,” Patil said.
The state government has not given a single paise to compensate for the losses caused to the people during the lockdown, he said.
“The chief minister should visit the lanes and bylanes in different parts of the state without his official convoy. Only then will he understand the problems people have faced during a lockdown,” Patil said.
Life has been coming back to normal in the last few months, and a lockdown now will adversely affect the economy, he added.
Patil said Covid-19’s spread can be halted by taking precautions. Use of masks and sanitisers, following social distancing should be made mandatory, and options like night curfew can be explored, he added.
The contribution of the unorganized sector to the economy is huge and a lockdown will affect them the most. The state should declare a package of Rs 5,000 per head for them people to deal with the impact. Daily wagers, autorickshaw drivers, hawkers and domestic help would benefit from this assistance, Patil said.