Maharashtra: A Gunda Raj in a Gunda Government

The governance in Maharashtra has been in the news since this Maha Vikas Agadi took charge a year ago. The formation of the government itself was a matter of discussion. And why not! Shiv Sena, a party whose supremo Bala Saheb Thackrey had once referred Congress as a ‘Hijdon ki party’, was formulating an alliance with Sonia Gandhi.

The Maharashtra government once again came in news when it became the epicenter of the coronavirus cases in India in the month of April 2020. Well, it still remains the epicenter with more than 10 lakh cases. Then it came to news when the government said it cannot take care of the ‘outsiders’ during the lockdown period. Yes, the Maharashtra Government refused to take care of the migrant workers and asked the respective states to take them back. One can argue, but the migrant workers from Maharashtra became one of the major spreaders of the coronavirus infection in the rural areas.

The same Maharasthra government once again attracted the limelight in the month of June 2020 when its state police declared the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput a suicide within minutes. The Mumbai Police investigated the case for a good 66 days but could not file an FIR. Questions were raised and the family of the deceased was forced to register the FIR in their home state, Bihar. When the Mumbai Police refused to cooperate with Bihar Police and denied any help in the investigation, the Supreme Court had to intervene and award the case to CBI in August 2020.

However, by this time the Maharashtra Government became habitual of the media mileage. When it saw that the limelight is being taken over by the Bihar Police and Bihar government, its star campaigner Sanjay Raut took the command in his able hands. He straightway started abusing and badmouthing the family of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, thereby, bringing back the media attention to the Maharashtra government. Bravo!

Sanjay Raut, astonished by the magic of foul language and how media gave instant attention to such statements, lashed out attack on actress Kangana Ranaut as well. Sanjay Raut threatened Kangana and dared her to enter Mumbai. In retaliation, when Kangana challenged Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena’s champion crusader called Kangana a ‘Haramkhor Ladki’. Bulls Eye! The media attention was back to Shiv Sena. The Maharashtra Government then decided to take on Kangana and demolished her office cum home in Pali Hills. What a representation of the statesmanship by the Maharashtra Government. It broke the house of a citizen who dared to question the government.

If this was not enough, the goons of Shiv Sena, on Friday, September 11, attacked a retired Naval Officier just because he dared to forward a cartoon of Shiv Sena’s supremo Uddhav Thackrey in his society WhatsApp group. Though the Mumbai Police showed swiftness in arresting the goons, it showed even more swiftness in releasing them on bail.

Did Maharashtra vote for such a government? Don’t Maharashtrians feel cheated as they had voted for a BJP-Shiv Sena alliance but got a government formed by Shiv Sena, Congress, and the NCP? The question is, why this is happening in Maharashtra. And the answer is, Shiv Sena has always been a party of goons. Its supremo Bala Saheb Thackrey always knew that the party did not have the governance capabilities. It is, perhaps, for this reason, that Bala Saheb chose to be a kingmaker than to become a king himself. He knew it very well that there will only be a Gunda Raj in a Gunda Government.