Nagpur: Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the Mahayuti comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP will sweep the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation elections, defeating the elements who ‘robbed’ Mumbai’s treasury.
He led a scathing attack on the Shiv Sena(UBT) in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, saying, “Who are the ‘Rehman Dacoits’ robbing Mumbai’s treasury?”
Shinde expressed confidence that the Mahayuti will emerge as the true “dhurandhar (master)” by defeating these elements in the upcoming municipal elections.
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“What exactly did those who held power in Mumbai for so many years do? They only constantly harped that they would break Mumbai. Whether it was the Mithi River or Covid, they never missed a chance to commit a ‘dacoity’. They wrapped themselves around the treasury and committed scams in every work,” he claimed while sharpening his attack against Shiv Sena(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
In his reply to last week’s motion in the state council, Dy CM Shinde countered the criticism levelled against him and the government by the opposition during the winter session. Dy CM Shinde took a sharp dig at the opposition, saying that while the government has maintained its pace of development work and welfare schemes, the opposition has been left with nothing but making baseless allegations. “Some people behave like they have no strength but flee after pinching. They come to Nagpur only for tourism; their state is ‘Arrival today, Departure tomorrow.’ They came but didn’t ask a single question in the session, nor did they speak on any issue in the House. This clearly shows how aware they are of the public’s issues,” he remarked while targeting the Shiv Sena(UBT) chief.
He claimed that the opposition’s only focus was on demanding the post of Leader of Opposition, neglecting public issues. He pointed out that to secure that position, they needed to get enough members elected, suggesting the public itself has kept them away from the post.
Countering the demands for the abolition of his Deputy CM post, he stated they made a fuss in the media, but conveniently forgot that they themselves had kept the Deputy CM post in their cabinet when they took the oath as Chief Minister. He attributed the accusations against him to “ill-will and jealousy”.
The Dy CM listed several decisions taken by the state government for Mumbaikars, terming them “historic”.
He stated that the government has given relief to 20,000 buildings in Mumbai lacking an Occupancy Certificate (OC), and the government has decided to make Mumbai “Pagdi-free”.
Further, the government approved a scheme to provide alternative homes within a 5 km radius to 25,000 National Park employees, amended rules for the redevelopment of chawls (tenements) on Mumbai’s mill lands, reduced prices by 10 per cent of houses built by City and Industrial Development Corporation and decided to implement the Cluster Redevelopment Scheme for large plots over 50 acres, with 17 projects selected in the first phase.
“We are fulfilling the dream of Hindu hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray to provide homes to 40 lakh slum dwellers,” Shinde stated.
He said that by launching these schemes on January 23 next year, coinciding with Balasaheb’s birth centenary year, they are making these “flower offerings of schemes at his feet”.
