After Khadse's clarification, Vikhe-Patil started demanding the resignation of Fadnavis. "The CM has time to do yoga, but he cannot visit the families of the deceased. This shows how insensitive the government is towards poor people and their health," alleged the Opposition leader.
The cold war between excise minister Eknath Khadse and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis resurfaced on Wednesday when Khadse put the blame of the Malvani hooch tragedy on Fadnavis.
Informing that he had talked to Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil over the matter of the latter's demand for his resignation, Khadse said: "I called up Vikhe-Patil and cleared his misunderstanding. The home department is held by the chief minister, and so I should not held responsible. Vikhe-Patil understood and changed his statement. I am not at all responsible for this tragedy. The home department has to take action against the bootleggers. If they fail, how I am responsible?"
After Khadse's clarification, Vikhe-Patil started demanding the resignation of Fadnavis. "The CM has time to do yoga, but he cannot visit the families of the deceased. This shows how insensitive the government is towards poor people and their health," alleged the Opposition leader.
Khadse has not been in good terms with Fadnavis since the formation of the government. A chief ministerial aspirant and a Bahujan, Khadse was sidelined by the party top brass to pave way for Fadnavis to be at the helm of affairs.
The duo was also involved in a tug-of-war over transfer of bureaucrats. "Whenever they get the opportunity, they criticise each other. Recently, Khadse and Fadnavis issued contradictory statements over the issue of Metro car shed at Aarey. However, in public, they praise each other and say that they have a good relationship," said a senior cabinet minister requesting anonymity.
"In the cabinet, both these leaders make contradictory statements and shows that they do not care for each other. I personally feel that Fadnavis needs to handle the senior ministers' ego carefully, otherwise it will damage the image of the government," the minister added.
Cracking the whip
Minister of state for excise Dilip Kamble said the government is very serious about the hooch tragedy. "The government has decided to end this network by conducting continuous raids. We want to go to the root of the problem rather than addressing it at a superfluous level. We have identified areas such as Thane, Nandurbar and Palghar where this business flourishes with the help of police. We want to end that nexus," said Kamble.
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