Maharashtra govt repackaged Centre's schemes for pandemic affected people: Fadnavis

A day after Maharastra CM announced a package of Rs 5,476 crore for street vendors, registered construction workers and licenced autorickshaw drivers, Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused the government of repackaging the Centre's ongoing schemes and presenting them as its own measures.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of repackaging the Centre's ongoing schemes and presenting them as its own measures for people affected by the COVID-19 curbs.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, the BJP leader said the measures announced by the Uddhav Thackeray government were an eyewash, as it has simply repackaged the Centre's schemes and presented it as its own.

"A huge population is going to be affected due to the newly-announced curbs amid the pandemic, but it will not receive any financial assistance from this government," Fadnavis said.

At least 88 lakh people in the state are not covered in the Food Security Act because of a faulty survey conducted in 2011, and the chief minister has not announced any assistance for these people, he said.

The chief minister on Tuesday announced a new set of restrictions themed as "break the chain", chiefly prohibiting public movement and shutting non-essential services till May 1.

Thackeray also announced a package of Rs 5,476 crore for street vendors, registered construction workers and licenced autorickshaw drivers.

Although the package was welcomed by beneficiaries and garnered some praise on social media, Fadnavis dubbed it as an eyewash.

"The chief minister announced financial assistance to registered hawkers. It will only benefit hawkers in Mumbai and Thane, as only these cities have registered street vendors. This government does not recognise anything outside of Mumbai and Thane," he alleged. The former chief minister claimed that the present government is unaware of the ground reality.

"I urge this state government to go beyond the regular provisions to help people who will lose their livelihood in the next 15 days," Fadnavis said.

(With inputs from agency)