BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambakar's MLA Cup cricket tournament was attended by Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis today. Fadnavis played not one or two balls, but a few overs, hitting some strong shots which was responded well by attendees. Fadnavis also took a sly dig at the struggling Maharashtra government with his cricketing pun. Fadnavis said with “too many loose balls coming his way these days, he has no option but to hit them beyond the boundary”. He further said playing cricket is fun and if one gets to bat, it is all the more so. “I have decided, I will do pace bowling and will bowl googly and when I come to bat, I will also play shots. In the current circumstance, I am getting so many loose balls that I will have to hit them beyond the boundary,” he said in Marathi.
Fadnavis, who has been leading the BJP’s attack against the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led by former ally Uddhav Thackeray, has recently claimed the government did not act on an “incriminating” state intelligence department report containing audio intercepts of a “large scale corruption” in police transfers and postings. The comment comes at a time when Home Minister Anil Deshmukh is facing serious allegations of corruption from senior police officer Param Bir Singh, who was removed from his post of Mumbai Commissioner of Police. Singh has alleged that Deshmukh had set a Rs 100-crore collection target for police every month and has moved the Bombay High Court seeking “immediate and unbiased” probe against Deshmukh. Fadnavis also slammed the Uddhav Thackeray-led government over the deteriorating COVID-19 situation in the state, saying Maharashtra has become the epicentre of the infection. "This government is not bothered about the COVID-19 situation in the state. The way in which cases are increasing, it has become the epicentre," Devendra Fadnavis said while speaking at a press conference. "I don't understand what has this government done to control it? It is time to act and not give lectures," he added.