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Mumbai, Feb. 8: The Congress has played a Calcutta card in the battle for Mumbai but don’t expect Calcuttans to write home about it.
“During the Shiv Sena rule (of the corporation), Mumbai showed a negative 5 per cent growth which indicated that its infrastructure was under severe strain. So, unless measures are taken, Mumbai will go the Calcutta way. Therefore, steps need to be taken in transforming the transportation, infrastructure, housing and drinking water problems,” Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said today.
Chavan and his deputy, the NCP’s Ajit Pawar, were releasing the Congress-NCP combine’s manifesto for the February 16 civic polls to the the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is run by the Sena now.
Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is touted as the “X factor” in the elections next Thursday.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar expressed the hope that the allies would win the Mumbai, Thane and Nasik municipal corporations.
“We have an alliance at the Centre, in Maharashtra… The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is already with us…If BMC is also ruled by us, we can build Mumbai into a world-class city with help from the Centre,” said Pawar, who had rushed to Mumbai to attend the joint manifesto release.
Pawar was careful to underline the “inclusive” agenda of the alliance by saying the partners would work for the Marathi manoos (people) as well as migrants entering Mumbai. “We will take care that the Marathi manoos is respected and that people arriving in Mumbai from other parts of India feel secure. We are, after all, Indians.”
Chavan highlighted the problems the city has been facing. “Mumbai has fared poorly in a liveability index published in a recent survey. Mumbai should be better to live. People should be able to stay with self-respect.”
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