BJP rules out bid to topple Maharashtra government

After the experience of MP at a time when the pandemic was in its initial stages in India, BJP leaders ET talked to said such a move in Maharashtra may not be a wise option. However, they said the Thackeray government has completely failed in handling the crisis and that this is visible on a daily basis in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

New Delhi: The high number of Covid-19 deaths in Maharashtra and Rahul Gandhi’s statement that the Congress is not involved in key decision-making has given enough ammunition to BJP to take on the Uddhav Thackeray-led government but BJP leaders said any attempt to topple the government during the pandemic is unlikely.

After the experience of MP at a time when the pandemic was in its initial stages in India, BJP leaders ET talked to said such a move in Maharashtra may not be a wise option. However, they said the Thackeray government has completely failed in handling the crisis and that this is visible on a daily basis in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

“In case there is a big spike in number of Covid deaths, the possibility of President’s rule cannot be ruled out, though forming a new government is not on the agenda at the moment,” said a BJP leader.

Led by former CM Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s Maharashtra unit has been highly critical of the state government’s handling of the pandemic. BJP has alleged the government is not conducting enough tests despite having the infrastructure just to keep the numbers low, that it is hiding figures and that it has not made provisions for enough beds and ventilators for Covid-19 patients.

“Everything has been left to the bureaucrats and the chief minister’s inexperience shows,” said another BJP leader.

BJP senses differences within the ruling coalition and feels Gandhi’s statement brought this to the fore. Asked about his statement, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Is he trying to run away from responsibility of deaths in Mumbai?”