Did 30k people recover from COVID-19 after eating “Bhabhi Ji Ke Papad” asks Raut
New Delhi, Sep 17: Stressing that there should no politicisation of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shiv Sena on Thursday asked the Centre to release money to states from the PM Cares Fund and also clear GST dues to help them deal with the coronavirus situation.
During the second day of discussion in Rajya Sabha on the pandemic and steps taken by the Centre, Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) took exception to the criticism by some BJP leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, of the measures taken by the Maharashtra government to control the pandemic.
"More than 30,000 people have recovered from COVID in Maharashtra. How did it happen?" he said
Sanjay Raut slams Rajya Sabha MPs for criticising Maharashtra's COVID-19 situation
In an apparent dig at Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Raut said did those people recover by eating "Bhabhi Ji Ke Papad".
Meghwal
had
come
under
fire
after
he
reportedly
claimed
that
the
ingredients
of
a
papad
brand
'Bhabhi
Ji
Ke
Papad' helps
in
formation
of
antibodies
needed
to
fight
COVID-19.
Raut
further
said
all
states
were
doing
their
best
to
deal
with
the
pandemic.
It's not that opposition ruled states like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Delhi were doing bad, and only BJP-led NDA states were excelling in the fight, he added.
"We should not be pointing fingers at each other," he said, and stressed that the Shiv Sena has been maintaining that the battle against COVID has to be fought under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He charged that from September 1 onwards, the Centre has stopped supplies of medical equipment like PPE Kits and masks, putting an additional burden of Rs 350 crore on the Maharashtra government.
If the Centre wants the states to fight the COVID battle on their own, it should clear all GST dues, he demanded.
The
PM
Cares
Fund
too
is
for
all
states,
and
money
should
be
released
to
them,
he
said.
His
party
colleague,
Priyanka
Chaturvedi,
a
first
time
MP,
also
expressed
disappointment
over
politicisation
of
the
fight
against
the
pandemic.
She said every single state has been asked to take care of medical equipment on their own
"Considering
that
state
governments
are
already
under
tremendous
financial
burden
of
not
getting
their
due
GST,
how
do
you
expect
the
states
to
give
its
response,"
she
said.
Chaturvedi
wanted
to
speak
with
her
face
mask
off.
However,
on
insistence
of
Deputy
Chairman
Harivansh,
she
put
it
back
and
participated
in
the
discussion.
Praful Patel of the NCP, which is in a coalition government with the Shiv Sena and the Congress in Maharashtra, voiced concern over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country and called for a joint effort to deal with the pandemic.
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He said all states have been following the central guidelines on lockdown as well as the unlocking process.
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"When we all are fighting together, there is no need of pointing fingers at each other," Patel said.
He said the states were facing a fund crunch and sought release of GST dues from the Centre.