Maharashtra’s Social Justice Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. He is the third minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government to have been infected with the virus after Public Works Department Minister Ashok Chavan and Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad who have been recovered later.
Munde had mild symptoms (he has a throat infection) after which he was admitted to Breach Candy hospital on Friday morning. The minister’s private secretary, his media advisor, and three other employees in his office have also tested positive but are asymptomatic.
Munde had attended the weekly cabinet meeting at the Mantralaya, which continued for nearly three hours. On the following day, he joined his party’s foundation day celebrations in Ballard Pier. MP Supriya Sule, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra NCP president, and Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil, Mumbai NCP president Nawab Malik were among others who attended the meeting. Later, Munde had also attended an official meeting regarding cotton procurement chaired by Pawar.
As a precautionary measure, some senior officials from Munde’s department have also been put under home quarantine as he had attended some official meetings in the last few days.
