For its ‘impeccable’ and airtight handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Maharashtra, led by the Shiv Sena, has received heaps of praises from interim Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, a day after senior Congress leader from the state, Balasaheb Thorat reportedly wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray exposing the state government’s shortcomings to manage the crisis. This, after the state of Maharashtra, has been reporting almost weekly mishaps leading to unnatural deaths of patients in hospitals and medical facilities, apart from also contributing the greatest number of cases to India’s daily Covid tally.
Sonia Gandhi is learned to have said that she is pleased with the “professional and transparent handling of the pandemic” by the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray. This was revealed by state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, who is also the state’s Congress chief. “Sonia Gandhi spoke to me at length on state government measures to tackle the situation. She expressed satisfaction over handling the crisis. She instructed that the vaccination drive should be expedited and vaccinations should be completed in a time-bound period,” Thorat was quoted as saying by TOI.
Sonia Gandhi, apart from showering praises on the MVA government, also called for political unity to be fostered in order to take on the challenge of Covid-19. Sonia Gandhi emphasised the need for the political leadership to rise above differences and come together to fight the Covid calamity as a nation. According to the Free Press Journal, Gandhi further said that fighting Covid is not a “You versus Us” battle but is “Us versus Corona,” adding that the battle is, therefore, beyond political alignments.
.@INCIndia President Sonia ji Gandhi phoned me today & took stock of the #COVID19 situation in state & preventive measures taken. Expressing satisfaction in the MVA govt's handling of the crisis, she has instructed that vaccination drive should be conducted expeditiously in state
— Balasaheb Thorat (@bb_thorat) April 27, 2021
Why Sonia Gandhi would choose to commend the MVA government for its explicitly disastrous handling of the pandemic is not comprehensible for normal humans. It is to be understood that India as a country was doing well in controlling the pandemic, and the second wave of Covid-19 was nowhere in sight. Yet, it was Maharashtra, under the alleged inept leadership of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which seemingly contributed to the growth of cases across the nation.
Maharashtra is reeling under a punishing lockdown, shortages of oxygen, Remdesivir and other medical supplies. As such, the praises being showered by Sonia Gandhi on the MVA government for its ‘handling’ of the crisis makes little sense to ordinary citizens and seems rather bizarre to those suffering first-hand by the Shiv Sena-led government’s alleged ineptitude.