Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addresses a press conference, in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for bringing a safe to a press conference and said the latter would have found something valuable if it was brought from Matoshree, the Bandra residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray.
Gandhi on Monday brought a safe to his press conference in Mumbai to mock Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek hai toh safe hai' slogan.
Claiming a link between the slogan and the Dharavi redevelopment project being given to the Adani Group, Gandhi pulled out two posters from the safe, one featuring a picture of industrialist Gautam Adani and PM Modi with the caption "Ek hai toh Safe hai," and another showing a map of the project.
"Rahul Gandhi's act is childish. He should have brought the safe from Matoshree. He might have found something valuable," Shinde said in a swipe at the Congress leader as well as Thackeray.
Attacking Thackeray for claiming only 60,000 people would benefit from the Dharavi redevelopment project, Shinde said the massive makeover of one of the world's densest urban sprawls will give new homes to two lakh people.
"Under Thackeray's leadership (government), only eligible residents, numbering around 60,000, would have got homes," he said while calling the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader's statement as "double standards" and "akin to match fixing".
"We do not seek any political advantage from this. The Dharavi redevelopment project is on a global scale," Shinde asserted.
At his press conference here, Gandhi said the "Ek hai toh safe hai" slogan primarily serves to help Adani acquire Rs one lakh crore land through the Dharavi redevelopment project.
The land under the Dharavi redevelopment project is not given to Adani but to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), a special purpose vehicle in which the state government has a stake, the CM said.
"The DRPPL is a government initiative and not related to Adani," he added.
Questioning Thackeray on why an earlier tender was cancelled, Shinde said "those residing in Dharavi deserve better".
Thackeray neglects the plight of the poor while living in comfort, the CM alleged.
"If a Dharavi resident receives a house worth Rs 1 crore under the project, why do Thackeray and his allies (Maha Vikas Aghadi) have a problem with it," Shinde questioned.
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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