Updated: September 17, 2020 1:03:30 pm
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that all states were doing their best to deal with the pandemic.
Emphasizing that the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic should not be politicized, Shiv Sena on Thursday called on the Center to hand over money to the PM Cares Fund states and also clear GST quotas to help them deal with the coronavirus situation. .
During the second day of discussion in Rajya Sabha on the pandemic and the measures taken by the Center, Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) objected to criticism from some BJP leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, of the measures. adopted by the government of Maharashtra. to control the pandemic.
“More than 30,000 people have recovered from COVID in Maharashtra. How it happened? “, Said.
In an apparent excavation to the Union Minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Raut said that these people recovered by eating “Bhabhi Ji Ke Papad.”
Meghwal had come under fire after he reportedly claimed that the ingredients in a papad brand ‘Bhabhi Ji Ke Papad’ aid in the formation of the antibodies necessary to fight COVID-19.
Raut further said that all states were doing their best to deal with the pandemic.
Not that opposition-ruled states like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Delhi were doing it wrong, and only the BJP-led NDA states excelled in the fight, he added.
“We should not point fingers at each other,” he said, emphasizing that the Shiv Sena has been arguing that the battle against COVID must be fought under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He stated that from 1 September onward, the Center has stopped supplying medical equipment such as personal protective equipment and masks, placing an additional burden of Rs 350 million on the Maharashtra government.
If the Center wants states to fight the COVID battle on their own, it should eliminate all GST quotas, it demanded.
The PM Cares Fund is also for all states, and money must be given to them, he said.
Her party colleague, Priyanka Chaturvedi, a first-time MP, also expressed disappointment at the politicization of the fight against the pandemic.
He said each state has been asked to take care of the medical team on its own.
“Considering that state governments are already under a tremendous financial burden for not receiving their rightful GST, how do you expect the states to respond?” He said.
Chaturvedi wanted to speak without the mask. However, at the insistence of Vice President Harivansh, he left it behind and participated in the discussion.
NCP’s Praful Patel, who is in a coalition government with the Shiva Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, expressed concern about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country and called for a joint effort to address the pandemic.
He said all states have been following the core guidelines on the lockdown as well as the unlocking process.
“When we all fight together, there is no need to point fingers at each other,” Patel said.
He said states were facing a funding shortage and were seeking release of the Center’s GST quotas.
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