Oppn accuses CM of eyeing votes with his yatra amid floods

With Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis set to resume his mass outreach campaign next week, the opposition on Wednesday accused him of eyeing votes while normalcy is yet to be restored in flood-hit parts of the state.

Hitting out at Fadnavis, NCP's chief spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged that the chief minister's 'Mahajanadesh Yatra' only caused the "mahavinash" (great devastation) in the two Western Maharashtra districts of Kolhapur and Sangli.

"He did not take a decision (on tackling the flood situation) in time and worked blithely. Now, he is again after the Mahajanadesh. This proves it is the election votes which matter to him the most than the concerns and pain of the people. And this is very painful," Malik alleged.

 

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant seconded Malik.

Sawant said it was expected of Fadnavis to discharge his duties of being a chief minister than undertake the yatra.

"It is the character of this government that it feels content with campaigning and trading votes. He will have to answer questions that are there in the minds of people as he proceeds with his Mahajanadesh," Sawant added.

Fadnavis launched the yatra, a mass outreach initiative ahead of the state polls due later this year, from Amravati district in Vidarbha region on August 1.

He, however, suspended the campaign on August 6 in view of the rains wrecking havoc in many parts of the state even as the opposition charged him then with giving priority to the campaign programme.

The chief minister is set to resume his yatra from August 21, a BJP functionary said.

Life is slowly inching back to normalcy in Kolhapur and Sangli as flood waters have receded in the two districts and the key rivers there are now also flowing below the danger mark, officials said.

Till Tuesday, 6.45 lakh people were shifted to safer locations in Kolhapur and Sangli, which have been the worst hit due to flooding triggered by heavy rains in Western Maharashtra and Konkan region.