BJP accuses CM Uddhav of 'losing control of Maharashtra admin', not stepping out of home

Maharashtra BJP leader Narayan Rane on Thursday slammed the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the state over the handling of the Coronavirus crisis, saying that Chief Minister was unaware of the ground reality in the state alleging that he was not even stepping out of his house. Blaming the Shiv Sena-led government for the pandemic getting out of control, the senior BJP leader said that CM Uddhav's absence from the Mantralaya was bound to have an adverse impact on the administration and its functioning. 

"Uddhav Thackeray has stopped stepping out of his house. That is why he has no idea about the ground reality in the state. When the head of the state stops coming to the Mantralaya, it will have a negative effect on the administration and the employees as well," said Narayan Rane. "The state should have a Chief Minister who boosts the morale of the people, but he has restricted himself to only interacting via video conferencing," Rane added. 

Read: Maharashtra Congress Sends BJP Alarm Bells Ringing; Says 'your MLAs Are In Touch With Us'

Read: Maharashtra Congress Sends BJP Alarm Bells Ringing; Says 'your MLAs Are In Touch With Us'

Maharashtra records highest single-day surge

On Thursday, July 16, Maharashtra recorded 8641 novel coronavirus cases, propelling the state's COVID-19 tally to 2,84,281. At present, there are 1,14,648 active cases in the state. With 5527 COVID-19 patients discharged in the day, the number of recovered soared to 1,58,140. Until now, a total of 11,194 persons have died owing to COVID-19. So far, 14,46,386 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in labs operational across the state. 

Earlier this week, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had urged the Centre to include masks and sanitizers in the list of essential commodities. He mentioned that the Law and Judiciary Department would examine whether it was possible for the state government to cap the prices of masks and sanitizers.

According to Tope, a committee would be immediately set up to recommend the maximum retail price if the Law and Judicial Department gave a green signal. The state Health Minister assured that a notification would be issued thereafter, whereby people would be able to buy good quality masks and sanitizers at affordable prices. 

The COVID-19 positivity rate, recovery rate, and fatality rate in Maharashtra stands at 19.65%, 55.63%, and 3.94% respectively. 

Read: Maha Registers Highest Single-day Surge With 8641 COVID Cases; 5527 Patients Recover

Read: Maha: Thane Building Develops Cracks, Residents Evacuated

(With Agency Inputs)