Credit war begins between BJP and Shiv Sena ahead of BMC elections 2022, over the metro project

Mumbai: The trial run for the new metro rail corridors was flagged off on Monday by Maharashtra CM, Uddhav Thackeray. Ahead of BMC polls in 2022, a war broke out between the estranged allies Shiv Sena and BJP as the former chief minister and the current leader of opposition in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis started this project during his serving term from 2014-19. BJP is demanding the credit, as this project was Fadnavis’s initiative.

 

The Mumbai metropolitan region development authority (MMRDA), on Sunday evening, ensured the preparations at Akurli metro station in Kandivali from where the trial run was inaugurated. BJP on Monday protested outside the station with black flags, where Thackeray arrived for the opening. The police had to take the charge of the protestors before the CM arrived at the station. Leaders of Bhartiya Janta Party criticized Thackeray for taking credits for the work done by Fadnavis for Mumbai’s metro rail development. BJP took Twitter and started posting the hashtag - #Thankfadnavis4metro.

 

Uddhav Thackeray didn’t put up any political comment in his statement at the event. He said, “Life has stopped, the pace of work (on infrastructure projects) has slowed down, but the officials are working hard so the work doesn’t stop. These works will help to speed up the paused things once lockdown restrictions are over.” Atul Bhatalkar, BJP MLA, who led the protest for BJP at the spot, said, “This is an integrated Metro plan. For the main Metro line that runs from Colaba to Seepz, the CM changed the location of the car shed and created a hurdle for Metro work. The CM does not have the right to inaugurate this project. This is surely an attempt to take the credits.”

 

The event on Monday was to inaugurate the trial run on the first phase of two metro lines- Dahisar east to Andheri West and Dahisar to DN Nagar. The metro is the biggest infrastructure project to be commissioned in Mumbai before the civic elections in February 2022. According to MMRDA officials, metro 2A and metro 7 are the two corridors and will be commissioned in two phases. Phase one will be ready by September this year and phase two will be completed by January next year. Four more corridors, of about 104 km are underway, for which the initial testing has been started.