All parties should come together in pandemic: Maharashtra CM

Terming the Covid-19 pandemic a wake-up call for political parties, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday urged an end to party politics over corona and to the attempts to topple state governments.

The CM warned that there would be “anarchy” in the country otherwise.

Thackeray said all parties should come together to “save the country” from the pandemic and asked the opposition parties as well as the ruling BJP at the Centre to focus on the enormous challenge at hand.

“Now, rather than politics, the biggest problems are people’s livelihood and unemployment. If politicians continue to play politics for power, people will go against us. People have voted us for development and to resolve their issues.

Common people are least bothered about politics. Covid is a wake-up call and there would be anarchy if all political parties do not pay attention to it. So, all political parties should come together to save the country from the pandemic.

If the parties can come together for politics, what is the problem in coming together to save the country?” Thackeray said.

The CM was speaking at Marathi daily Loksatta’s ‘Drushti’ and ‘Kon’ event, organised to look at what the politics of the major parties would look like in the next 10 years.

Other speakers at the six-day event were the NCP’s Supriya Sule, Congress Minister Amit Deshmukh, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, MNS leader Raj Thackeray and former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis.

Thackeray said the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance will remain intact for many years like the Sena-BJP alliance, which lasted almost 30 years.

“If the alliance is for good work and if good work is happening, why shouldn’t it last? Like the Sena-BJP alliance, the MVA alliance will also last (for many years). As long as the motive in the minds of the three of us is clear and sincere, what is the problem in the MVA alliance in remaining intact? If there were any differences in the MVA, the government would not have lasted for a year-and-a-half,” said the Shiv Sena chief.

On the Maratha reservation issue, the CM said the government did not fail in presenting the case in the Supreme Court. “The court said the state does not have the right to give reservation. Despite this, did you give reservation? While the 102 constitutional amendment was made on August 11, 2018, the Maratha quota law was passed on November 30, 2018. So should I make a political allegation that we were misled even when we were in power? But I will not make such an accusation as it will not suit me as a CM,” he added.

Thackeray defended Congress Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar for his premature announcement of the five-level unlock plan earlier this week. The plan was officially announced Friday.

“The plan was discussed in the state disaster management authority meeting and Wadettiwar misunderstood it. He felt the decision had been taken and announced it, while only instructions had been given to the administration to review it,” said Thackeray.