MVA, BJP train guns at each other

MUMBAI: A day after the announcement of opening up of local trains for fully vaccinated citizens from August 15, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (Mva)-led state government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-ruled Central government bickered over the decision. Union minister of state for Railways and former Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve said the Railways was not taken into confidence by the state government, while announcing the decision. State officials said chief secretary Sitaram Kunte had spoken to senior railway officials before the announcement was made by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Danve on Monday said that though the Railways was ready to cater to commuters as announced by Thackeray, it would have been better if the Railways administration was taken into confidence. He said the state government should take the onus of checking commuters at entry points of railway stations to verify if they were fully vaccinated.

“We are not against operating local trains for the general public as we have been doing it during lockdown, but had the state government taken us into confidence, it would have been in the interest of the people. The CM has announced entry into local trains via a QR code, but the Railways does not have any such mechanism for verification. The vaccination programme has been implemented by the state and it is the responsibility of the state to verify the vaccination status of eligible commuters. Railways will provide services, but giving entry at the stations after verification is the responsibility of the state government,” he said in Delhi. Danve was reacting to Thackeray’s announcement of opening up the local trains for fully vaccinated people from August 15.

According to an official from CMO, chief secretary Sitaram Kunte had spoken to general managers of the Western and Central Railways before the announcement. “Divisional railway managers, too, were informed about the decision. We have been holding meetings with railway officials continuously since the beginning of the first lockdown. They have, time and again, clarified that the decision of opening up of local trains has to be taken by the state and they were ready to implement it. Railway officials in Maharashtra are fully aware about the decision and the steps taken by us for implementation,” he said. Leaders from MVA have strongly reacted. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut questioned if the BJP assumes the Railways as its personal property. “Railways is national property and does not belong to any specific political party. Is Railways the employee of BJP? The Maharashtra government is a law-abiding government and I am sure they must have followed all protocol while announcing the decision. The minister should first take proper information provided to him (by his ministry) on mobile and email. The decision of opening up local trains for the general public was keeping the interest of the public and the BJP had staged protests for it,” he said. Water resources minister and state NCP chief Jayant Patil said BJP should not indulge in oneupmanship. “The state has been doing its best to keep Covid-19 under control by extending relaxations from the lockdown in a graded manner,” he said.