MUMBAI: Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday alleged that there was lack of coordination among the three constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and also between Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his cabinet in the fight against COVID-19.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly also called for coordinated efforts and single- command decision-making while facing the pandemic.
The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had formed the MVA last year after the Assembly election to form the government in the state.
Fadnavis made the remarks while replying to queries from journalists about Thane guardian minister Eknath Shinde allegedly being in the dark about the transfers of some municipal commissioners in the district.
Fadnavis was also asked about a meeting between Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar that took place on Friday.
Thackeray and Pawar met on Friday in the wake of reports of some NCP and Congress ministers not being happy with the chief minister over the extension of lockdown in the state till July 31.
"I have been saying this right from day one that coordination is not visible in the Aghadi. There is no coordination in the government too.
"There is lack of coordination among the ministers and also between the Cabinet and the chief minister. Coordination has to be there," Fadnavis told reporters in Navi Mumbai.
Fadnavis also said that the MVA constituents keep saying that they stand with the chief minister, but their actions do not reflect so.
he former chief minister further said a decision like extending lockdown should be "broadly thought about".
"I am not of the view that there should be no lockdown. But we are in unlock now, we can think of partial lockdown in a certain area. We can think of lockdown on a bigger scale if the situation really goes out of hand.
"But if we lockdown the policy, we will never be able to get out of this. Hence, we need to do alternative thinking and consider collective wisdom," he added.
Fadnavis also dismissed questions that some of the senior BJP leaders were not happy over the party' new executive committee that was announced on Friday.
Fadnavis said he himself, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, other senior leaders like Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde, Pankaj Munde and Sudhir Mungantiwar are among the special invitees of the executive.
"I am a worker of the party. So, whoever is running the working executive, is mine and I am theirs. This is a working executive thought out by all.
"The central BJP has sought some names for the central executive. We have given some names to them. One name you know, there are two-three more names," he added.
He also urged the government to increase COVID-19 tests in the state.