Mumbai: Despite having a solid two-thirds majority in the288-member Maharashtra legislative assembly the Devendra Fadnavis government is plagued by one controversy or the other. “Even though I am a BJP member I do not get the feeling that my party is in command of the state,” a senior BJP activist observed.
Take the case of the most brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district on December 9. It is several weeks since the murder took place and till date the police has not been able to trace the prime suspect Krishna Andhale.
Thousands of people had staged marches in Beed, Jalna and other districts demanding justice for the victim’s family. But beyond setting up a special investigation team (SIT) the government has done precious little to solve the murder.
Deshmukh was murdered because he opposed the alleged extortion bid of Walmik Karad, who is known to be close to minister Dhananjay Munde. Even though the opposition and activists have been crying hoarse that Munde be dropped from the ministry since his being in office is likely to adversely impact the murder investigation, Fadnavis has not conceded the demand.
Little wonder an impression has gained ground that the government is not keen on going into the roots of the murder of Deshmukh, who was attacked with knives all over his body, urine was poured into his mouth and abused in a moving Scorpio.
More recently, minister Manikrao Kokate was convicted by the trial court in a serious case of cheating and forgery. Instead of immediately showing him the door, Fadnavis gave him a long rope and let him move the appellate court and obtain a stay on the conviction. In fell move, the moral authority of the government was demolished.
At the political level, deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde is continuing to sulk since he was not allowed to retain chief ministership. He has convinced himself that the Mahayuti alliance performed superbly in the assembly polls solely because of the huge success of the Ladki Bahin scheme, which he had actually borrowed from the Madhya Pradesh government.
However, the BJP which is numerically in a commanding position, decided to make Fadnavis the CM. Shinde is still to reconcile to the fact that he is not the CM anymore. He routinely abstains from attending important official meetings and retreats to his village in Satara at the drop of a hat. The BJP and the Shiv Sena are simply not pulling together which gives the impression of a government working at loggerheads.
The state is staring at a massive public debt of over Rs 7 lakh crores. But till date no one has any idea how the government plans to prune this humongous burden.
There is little transparency in the investigation of sensational incidents like the “accidental” firing of actor Govinda’s gun and the pre-dawn stabbing of another actor Saif Ali Khan in his penthouse in Bandra. Despite the appointment of SITs to probe the mysterious death of Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian nothing is known about the exact cause of death. Contradictions galore. People are forced to move the courts to know the truth about these two shocking incidents.
The Bombay high court repeatedly is pulling up the government for its lapses. But it has made little difference. Take the case of illegal hoardings which routinely make nonsense of the urban landscape. Right in front of Mantralaya these ugly hoardings make their presence felt. The HC order on decibel pollution by loudspeakers installed at places of worship is still to be implemented. Instead of getting on with the serious business of governance, the government appears to be more worried about ladies dance bars.
