Does government exist in Maharashtra or circus: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, lauds actor Sonu Sood

Mumbai: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday slammed the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government over its handling of the COVID-19 situation, saying the current situation in the state looks like a circus is going on instead of governance.

Singh also backed Sonu Sood for his work for stranded migrant workers and questioned the state government's criticism of the actor.

"It looks like the situation in Maharashtra is more of a circus than a government. It is highly unfortunate to see state crawling despite having a strong leadership of NCP chief Sharad Pawar," Singh said while addressing a virtual rally of BJP workers from Maharashtra.

"The greed for power has prevailed over political alliance and commitments," Singh said in an oblique reference to the Shiv Sena, which had parted ways with the BJP post assembly elections in 2019.

"I wonder whether any government exists in Maharashtra when I see a coronavirus patient waiting for an ambulance for more than 16 hours," he said.

He also criticized the Sena which had on Sunday said that Sood was doing the BJP's bidding to show the state government in poor light.

"Instead of lauding his work, the government has criticized actor Sonu Sood for his efforts to send migrant workers back home. The Maharashtra government should learn from UP and Karnataka on how to contain coronavirus spread," he said.