Savara should take moral responsibility for the state of affairs in his department and resign without any further delay, party leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said.
If Savara does not resign on his own, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should sack him if he has any regards for the families who lost their children due to malnutrition, said the Leader of Opposition in Assembly.
Savara yesterday faced the anger of a tribal woman whose two-year-old son died last month apparently due to severe malnutrition in adjoining Palghar district, the video of which has gone viral on social media.
Savara told the villagers that the government is taking necessary steps to prevent cases of malnutrition.
Also Read
"The minister's lack of sensitivity towards the issue forced the Governor to direct him to take necessary measures. The Governor's intervention is a matter of shame for a Government," Vikhe-Patil said.
Vikhe-Patil said he, along with other Congress leaders would undertake a tour of tribal regions like Palghar, Nandurbar and Melghat, to take stock of the situation.
"We will see first hand, what all has the Government done for the people in these regions. We will start our tour from September 19, with a visit to Jawhar and Mokhada talukas in Palghar district," he said.
Governor C Vidyasagar Rao held a meeting on Wednesday with Savara, Health Minister Deepak Sawant, and Pankaja Munde, the Women and Child Development Minister, and gave them directions to take steps to prevent death from malnutrition. After the meeting, Savara visited Mokhada.
Meanwhile, Savara denied having made any controversial remarks about the malnutrition deaths.
"How will I say such a thing," the minister told reporters here today.
NCP Maharashtra unit president Sunil Tatkare said when Savara visited a tribal hamlet in Khoch village in the worst-hit Mokhada sub-district of Palghat yesterday, angry locals confronted the minister.
"Some infuriated tribals asked Savara that 600 children have died in the region this year and wanted to know what has he done on this issue. Savara replied: "So what? The government is doing its work," Tatkare said.