Mumbai, Aug 14 (PTI) Bharatiya Janata Party's Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar on Monday slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut over the delay in civic polls in Maharashtra as well as the latter linking it to the death of patients in a hospital in neighbouring Thane.

MLA Shelar said Raut had forgotten that it was the Shiv Sena (UBT) that had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to increase the number of corporators.

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Had the civic polls been held in time, the deaths of patients in a hospital in Thane would not have taken place, Raut had stated.

"The Saamana executive editor should be aware of the fact that his own party has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the state government's decision to increase the number of corporators in the civic body. His party should clarify whether it is opposed to OBC reservations in civic bodies," Shelar said.

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He said Raut's statements are illogical and like those made by someone high on intoxicants.

Eighteen persons died in a 24-hour period on Saturday and Sunday in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa in Thane.

Civic polls in major cities in Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Thane, have been on hold since early last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues related to reservations.

These civic bodies are now being run by administrators.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)