The political leadership in Maharashtra is making sincere efforts to fight each other rather than the crisis at hand. With Maharashtra clocking more than 60,000 new corona cases, the blame game in the state has just intensified. After the MVA vs BJP faceoff over Remdesivir, Raj Thackeray-led MNS is now pointing fingers at the Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders for hoarding Remdesivir- the critical drug prescribed to treat Covid-19.
MNS leader and Vice President of MNS’s youth wing, Akhil Chitre has alleged that the MVA leaders have also stocked Remdesivir but NCP leader Nawab Malik chooses to remain silent on the same. He also advised the MVA government to stop politicizing a pandemic and save people’s lives.
रेमडेसिवीर चा साठा तर आपल्या मविआ आमदारांकडे सुद्धा आहे @zeeshan_iyc पण वाटप करत आहेत @nawabmalikncp ह्या बाबत पण जरा बोला.
— Akhil Chitre अखिल चित्रे (@akhil1485) April 18, 2021
तुमचे राजकारण बंद करा जनतेचा जीव महत्त्वाचा आहे. कोरोना ग्रस्त रूग्णांना #Remedisivir उपलब्ध होणे गरजेचे.
In the same tweet, Chitre revealed that the Congress MLA and General Secretary Mumbai Youth Congress Zeeshan Siddique has confessed to distributing Remdesivir for free in a video uploaded by him on social media.
In the video, Zeeshan can be heard saying that he and his team have distributed Remdesivir and other life-saving drugs for free to the needy and also made arrangements for beds and ventilators as and when possible.
Stay safe & stay strong mumbai ❤️ pic.twitter.com/2dlFQwaO8a
— Zeeshan Siddique (@zeeshan_iyc) April 17, 2021
The Aam Aadmi Party did not miss the chance to take a dig at its opponents. Preeti Sharma, a national executive member of the AAP from Mumbai, timing her entry in this fiasco demanded action against the leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis for allegedly hoarding Remdesivir in Maharashtra.
#Mumbai: @AAPMumbai demands action against BJP for allegedly indulging in ‘hoarding of #Remdesivir and illegal charity’; reports @SanjayJog7 @PreetiSMenon https://t.co/D7qCpv22ZZ
— Free Press Journal (@fpjindia) April 18, 2021
The demand was made after the Maharashtra unit of BJP had ordered Remdesivir from a company named Bruck Pharma for distribution through the state government channels. However, after the company readied the product for delivery, the police detained the company’s director accusing them of hoarding the drug.
It is imperative to note that the political parties cannot buy and distribute critical drugs for ‘charity’ or indiscriminate use and need to route the supply through appropriate channels for distribution.
Last week BJP Gujarat’s state president CR Patil was pulled up for procuring 5000 vials of Ramdesivir and distributing it for free to the needy in Surat’s party office.