No dispute with Sena on unlocking: Pawar
MUMBAI : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday commended Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for deciding to ease the curbs during the Covid-19 lockdown at the right time in his “cautious” style of functioning.
In an interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Pawar insisted there was no difference of opinion between him and Thackeray over the way the government brought in relaxations during the lockdown.
This is the first time Saamana has published a three-part interview of a politician who is not a Sena leader. It had previously only carried interviews of party founder Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray.
In the interview with Saamana executive editor and Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Pawar said he concluded that curbs should be gradually lifted, after discussions with several people. “I have been in touch with the chief minister, and am even today... I had discussions with labour bodies, business owners, etc. I formed an opinion based on talks with them, and brought it to the notice of the CM,” Pawar said.
The Maharashtra government, under Mission Begin Again, started relaxing lockdown norms from June. There were speculations that Thackeray was earlier unwilling to open up the state, but Pawar had intervened to get the curbs eased.
Refuting reports of differences with Thackeray on lifting of the lockdown, he said, “This is not a difference of opinion. Delhi and Karnataka allowed relaxations, and there were consequences, but economic activities started again...if the state and the country’s economy are disrupted, the ill-effects will be far greater than coronavirus,” he said.