Thackerays were born, aged in Mumbai, but did nothing for its residents: CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. (Express Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

Launching an attack on the Thackeray cousins, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said Uddhav and Raj were born and grew up in Mumbai, yet they have failed to solve the city’s problems. Uddhav held the reins of the BMC for the last 25 years but could do nothing to address the problems of Mumbaikars, he said at a rally in Andheri.

Earlier, Uddhav and Raj, in an interactive session, had slammed Fadnavis as an “outsider who does not understand the issues of Mumbai”. Responding, Fadnavis said, “Balasaheb Thackeray was one of the leaders whose understanding of Mumbai was best. Yet, he was born in Pune. Whereas, those who were born in Mumbai and aged here could not solve a single problem of city.”

“The question that comes to everybody’s mind is what has Uddhav done for making the lives of people better in the financial capital of India. What have they done for Marathi Manoos who were forced to leave the city and seek shelter beyond Vasai-Virar,” the CM wondered. “Just because you are born in Mumbai does not give you a legitimacy to celebrate and get garlanded,” he said.

“During my tenure as CM we planned and implemented Metro rail network of 475 km connecting entire MMR region. The process of decongestion in local trains by providing an alternative in Metro has become a reality,” he stressed. “We further plan to make local trains air-conditioned and ensure every commuter travel safely and comfortably across the city at an affordable rate.”

“The redevelopment of BDD chawl was a significant move to providing bigger housing to the people at affordable rates. It is our commitment to give Marathi Manoos a house within the city. And ensure nobody is driven out of Mumbai. When we talk of slum free Mumbai it is not to get rid of the poor. Instead, we want to ensure they settle in decent houses in the same place within the city,” he said.