NCP MP Praful Patel during an exclusive conversation with India TV on Monday
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) senior leader Praful Patel on Monday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was "misunderstood" when he remarked upon Congress not being a "key decision-maker" in Maharashtra. "I don't think Rahul Gandhi meant anything as it had been construed in sections of the media. In fact, he spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after that," said Patel, also a Rajya Sabha MP from the state.
The Maharashtra government is formed by three parties... but these three wheels are running in a synchronised way," he said.
The clarification by Patel came during an exclusive interview with India TV, where he had been invited for a conversation as part of a conclave, which also featured chief ministers from different states.
Speaking about the COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra, Patel said that the number of critical coronavirus patients in the state was gradually coming down and the state of affairs was gradually picking up. "We have more cases since we are testing more. We have 77 testing centres," noted Patel.
He also lauded Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of handling the coronavirus situation in the state in a "great way." When probed if Uddhav's poor handling of the situation had prompted NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to take charge of steering the state through these times, Uddhav said that Pawar was an "experienced leader and didn't believe in backseat driving when it came to running the government."
