Will Fight Political Storms and Coronavirus Too: Uddhav Thackeray

“Whatever political storms come, I will face... I will fight coronavirus too,” CM Uddhav Thackeray said.

File image of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Leading a double charge against political adversaries and the pandemic, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “Whatever political storms come, I will face... I will fight coronavirus too.”

CM Thackeray who has been facing repeated attacks from its former ally, the BJP, over the state government’s handling of the pandemic and Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, said, "Whatever storms have reached the state, be it natural or political, the government has been fighting them.”

As Maharashtra crosses the 10 lakh mark with a record spike in cases, CM Thackeray announced the launch of 'My family-My responsibility' campaign to fight COVID19 pandemic during his address.

As a part of this campaign, Thackeray added, “I need the help of all public representatives to take responsibility of this for their wards. Door-to-door survey should be done to ask if someone is above 50, do they have any co-morbidities and what is their oxygen level. Before the virus reaches, we should reach their homes, this is 'My family My Responsibility'.”

Taking the opportunity to also talk about the Maratha quota for jobs and college admissions that was stayed by the Supreme Court earlier, he appealed to citizens to not step out to protest amid the spike, assuring that the state government will “fight for justice”.

“I assure you we will fight for your justice. Even in the last government all four parties worked towards reservation for Marathas and we will fight for it. We have the best of the best of legal counsels and we are fighting this battle now in the Supreme Court. We haven’t given up.”

Uddhav Thackeray, chief minister of Maharashtra

While saying that he spoke to BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis over Maratha quota, he also added, "There is a conspiracy to defame the state even as the government is effectively tackling the pandemic", alluding to the BJP’s attacks against his governance.

CM Thackeray’s party members have found themselves caught in a battle with the BJP ever since Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide as they refused to pass the case over to the CBI. Recently, Shiv Sena has also been embroiled in a controversy with actor Kangana Ranaut, with the actor comparing Mumbai to PoK.