Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday appealed to political parties to immediately stop agitations, meetings and other programmes to avoid crowding in the wake of a slight increase in the number of daily Covid-19 cases in the state.

"We can celebrate festivals later. Let us prioritise the lives and health of our citizens. The situation can go out of hand in view of the spike in daily cases," Thackeray said in a statement.