Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Sunday accused the ruling Mahayuti of plundering the skills and resources of Mumbai and Maharashtra and attacking democracy through defections.
Addressing a press conference, the AICC general secretary targeted the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, claiming dreaded gangsters were being given protection and known criminals actively encouraged under its rule.
Surjewala said, "The entertainment industry, including Bollywood, was brazenly issued threats, and political leaders were murdered in broad daylight. Can this happen without the active or tacit complicity of those in power?" He alleged that the state is under a designed attack by the "khokha group vultures" and described the leaders of Mahayuti as "predators clawing at and ripping apart democracy through defections".
The Congress leader claimed the Mahayuti was doling out contracts and tenders at a destructive pace with scant regard for procedures, transparency, accountability, ecology, and environmental sensibility.
He accused the ruling alliance of destroying the industrial revolution in Mumbai and Maharashtra, pushing new projects, investments, and jobs outside the state.
Mumbai and Maharashtra's skills and resources are being plundered by "invaders masquerading as the ruling Mahayuti", Surjewala claimed, adding that the "Mahayuti-made mahengai" (inflation) has made life hell for the people of the city and the state.
He alleged that Bollywood and prominent entertainers were facing death threats and firing at their residences by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The gunning down of former minister Baba Siddique in Bandra, allegedly by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, shocked the entire country and exposed the "gun and gunda raj", he said.
He listed incidents of former corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar, who was shot dead during a Facebook live session, and BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad shooting Shiv Sena leader Mahesh Gaikwad inside a police station.
The Congress leader further claimed that while the Mahayuti gave a last-minute lollipop of exempting toll for entry into Mumbai, the MMRDA continues to recklessly award tenders and contracts, which will lead to the imposition of tolls for 35 years in the region.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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