And a veiled hint of President Rule

A day after a BJP delegation met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, raising alarm over the deepening of the coronaries crisis in Maharashtra, party MP Subramanian Swami in tweet said that President’s Rule was the only way out in Maharashtra.

''Time is now or never: Uddhav break the alliance now, otherwise the NCP and the Congress will destroy you by staged events,’’ he added. The trigger for Swamy’s call was an article shared by him titled ‘’President’s Rule, the only way out in Maharashtra.’’ The timing of Swamy’s tweet is politically loaded -- at a time the Maharashtra government is on the backfoot in its battle against coronavirus. (Already, the cases have surged to 39,297 with 1,390 deaths.)

The Maha Vikas Aghadi partners -- the NCP and the Congress -led a scathing attack on Swamy and alleged that it was the BJP’s ploy to destabilise the state government. Incidentally, Shiv Sena preferred to downplay Swamy’s tweet, hinting that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is firm in the saddle and that he is least bothered by such intimidation.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar came down heavily on the BJP saying that the ‘’party with a difference’’ should not percipitate matters at a time when the government is waging a war against the virus in close cooperation with the opposition and support from the people.

''The people will foil the BJP’s attempt to weaken the state and put up roadblocks in the fight against coronavirus pandemic,’’ he opined.

On the other hand, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat alleged that Swamy’s suggestion to the Shiv Sena to break the alliance with the NCP and the Congress was a part of a conspiracy to destabilise the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state.

Interestingly, a large number of people on twitter reminded Swamy that the BJP ruled Gujarat is the fittest case for imposition of President’s Rule, given the death ratio there. ''Ha ha ha...Let us try that model in Gujarat and MP first,’’ was the acidic remark on twitter handle of Indy Handy. Another user, MS Rana, said in his tweet: ''If there is one state where President's rule must be imposed then it has to be Gujarat. There is chaos all around with no working leadership evident. Modi's gala "Namaste Trump" event in Feburary has caused havoc in Ahmedabad which is the worst Corona-hit city in Gujarat.’’