'Not in helicopter for photo session': Uddhav Thackeray slams BJP for criticism over visit to cyclone-hit areas

Mumbai: Amid opposition BJP’s criticism over the duration of his visit to cyclone-hit Konkan region of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that he was at least taking stock of the situation on the ground and not conducting an aerial survey in a helicopter. His remarks were apparently aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently conducted an aerial survey in Gujarat, where cyclone Tauktae wreaked havoc earlier this week. Thackeray on Friday visited Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts in Konkan to know the ground situation in the aftermath of the cyclone, and directed the authorities to complete the crop loss assessment within two days. However, BJP leaders in the state targeted him over the duration of his visit. While former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said he was surprised to know that Thackeray was making political comments during his merely three-hour long tour of Konkan, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Pravin Darekar sought to know how the CM could understand in just three hours the extent of damage caused by the cyclone. When asked about the BJP’s criticism, Thackeray said on Friday, “It’s okay if my tour lasted four hours. At least I am on the ground taking stock of the situation and not in a helicopter for a photo session. I am a photographer myself. I have not come here to respond to opposition’s criticism,” he said at Malvan in Sindhudurg. Cyclone Tautkae, which made landfall in Gujarat on Monday night, also affected several other states along the west coast, including Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.