Shiv Sena warns of chaos post coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown, questions Maharashtra govt's readiness

MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s ruling party Shiv Sena has warned of widespread chaos in the country if the Centre fails to take immediate steps to bring the economy on track after the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown ends on May 17. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the party posed serious questions before the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state led by Chief Minister and party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

In a Saamana editorial titled “What next post lockdown’’, the party warned of serious consequences if immediate steps were not taken to bring the economy on track post lockdown.

Shiv Sena warned of public outburst against the Maharashtra government, saying that the people are running out of patience now after over two months of restrictions and lockdown. The Maharashtra-based party said that it was time to restart the economic activities after nearly two months of lockdown with adequate precautions. This will infuse new energy in the system and boost the economy. 

The party said that many top political leaders including Rahul Gandhi had been asking the Centre to share its exit plan, but it has no clear roadmap for the way forward. 

The Sena editorial said that both the Narendra Modi and Uddhav Thackeray led governments in Centre and Maharashtra are ‘powerful’ but they need to chalk out a strategy to deal with the post lockdown situation.

The Saamana editorial said that the revenue earned in the last three months has been spent on fighting coronavirus pandemic and the state's coffers are empty now. For treating coronavirus patients post lockdown and running the state, economic activities need to start at the earliest which will instill confidence in people about the government.     

Shiv Sena had on Monday targeted the Centre for not making enough transport facility for migrant labourers to return home in the coronavirus-enforced lockdown but arranging special flights to bring back Indians stranded abroad.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut took potshots, through a cartoon, at the BJP-led government at the Centre over its 'Vande Bharat' mission and wondered if domestic migrant workers are paying the price for staying back in the country. The senior Sena leader in the evening tweeted the cartoon where migrant labourers walking on railway tracks look frustrated as they do not have state-provided means to return home.

A person in the cartoon looking at an aircraft bringing back stranded Indians from abroad says, "Our only fault was that we continued working here in our country."

'Vande Bharat' mission is written on the plane. The mega mission is aimed at evacuating stranded Indians from abroad.

Raut, who has been very critical about the Centre’s response to coronavirus COVID-19, had taken a dig at the Narendra Modi government for allowing just 20 people to attend a funeral. Referring to the Centre’s decision to ease restrictions on the sale of alcohol, Raut quipped that only 20 people are allowed to attend a funeral, but 1,000 people can gather near an alcohol shop.

Shiv Sena head and chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has been demanding arrangement of an adequate number of special trains for the safe return of migrant labourers to their home states.