12 September,2023 09:12 PM IST | Jalgaon | mid-day online correspondent
Eknath Shinde. File Pic
In a dig at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said many people are suffering from stomach pain due to the work being done by his government, reported the PTI.
Speaking at the "Shasan Aaplya Dari" (Government at your Doorsetp) programme, CM Eknath Shinde said the previous dispensation led by Uddhav Thackeray had stopped working, but it became active after CM Shinde took over.
Many people are having a stomachache due to the work we do, the 'Shasan Aaplya Dari' initiative is benefitting people. But to treat stomach ache, we are starting a new programme 'Doctor at Your Doorstep, CM Shinde said.
The Shiv Sena leader said he would respond to allegations of Thackeray, who has been very critical of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena-BJP government and the 'Shasan...' programme, with his work.
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You (Thackeray) worked from home (during the Covid-19 pandemic), but we are reaching the doorsteps of people. Why didn't you do this when you had a chance (as the chief minister)? Shinde questioned.
He said Uddhav Thackeray has lost the ground after losing power.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that his government is committed to giving reservations to the Maratha community by proving its social and educational backwardness, reported the PTI.
He was speaking to reporters at Pune's Bhimashankar Temple, one of the 12 'jyotirlingas' in the country.
"It is our clear stand to give reservations to the Maratha community. When Devendra Fadnavis was chief minister (between 2014 and 2019), we had given reservations to the Maratha community but it was set aside by the Supreme Court," he said.
"It is our priority to prove that the Maratha community is backward on social and educational grounds. We are giving first preference to it and dedicated committees are working on it. Time should be given to the government," the chief minister said, according to the PTI.
CM Shinde said he had assured Manoj Jharange Patil, who has been on hunger strike in Jalna district for the past several days, that the Maharashtra government was fully with the Maratha community.
"We do not want to cheat anyone by taking any (weak) decision. A decision which we take must stand the legal test. The government's stand is that reservations given to the Maratha community must be foolproof," he said.
Asserting that reservations must be given to the Maratha community without affecting such facilities of other groups, Shinde asked opposition parties to cooperate with his government.
(with PTI inputs)
