“Now, MMRDA wants money from the BMC for metro projects. What use is this MMRDA? It’s selling Mumbai’s land (referring to the bullet train project), and now, it wants money from the BMC to implement its projects,” Thackeray said, adding that if he doesn’t abolish it, he will at least throw the MMRDA away from the Mumbai metropolitan city limits.
Thackeray repeated that the Centre would separate Mumbai from Maharashtra by pointing at Mumbai’s guardian minister getting an office inside the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and proposals for NITI Aayog to come in and develop Mumbai.
“This is nothing but clipping Mumbai’s wings. They are trying to kill the golden goose. This is their jealousy. They want to make Ahmedabad the financial capital. If they kill this golden goose, that, in turn, will kill Maharashtra,” he said.
About the Lok Sabha elections, he said the government at the Centre will change on 4 June as the INDIA bloc will come to power.
“On the fourth of June, it will be DeModination, just like demonetisation. Modi will just be Narendra Modi and not the prime minister as he said during demonetisation that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 will just be paper and not currency,” he said.
Thackeray also said that PM Modi’s roadshow or rallies in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra would only have a “positive impact” on the prospects of the INDIA bloc because people have started realising that Modi is not fulfilling his promises.
“Modi has taken out double the rallies in the state this election. Last time in 2019, he did not have to worry about anything. Both in 2014 and 2019, Maharashtra had given 40-plus MPs. This time that won’t be possible,” he said.
Also read: Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA up against Congress in dozen+ Maharashtra seats, ‘BJP’s B-team’ allegations fly
‘Mumbai will have to stand with a bowl to beg’
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) was created in the 1970s as a special planning authority for Mumbai’s different parts. It looks after coordinating development activities not only in the city but the entire Mumbai metropolitan region, which constitutes satellite towns such as Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Dombivali, among others.
The MMRDA comes directly under the state government, while the BMC has been governed by the Shiv Sena for 25 years in partnership with the BJP, except in 2017 when the parties fought separately. But, in March 2022, after delays in the BMC elections due to the reorganisation of ward boundaries, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government approved an amendment to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, which brought the BMC under a state-run administrator.
Historically, the MMRDA and the BMC have been spurring over who governs Mumbai. During 2004-2014, at the time of the Congress-NCP government in the state but a Shiv Sena-led BMC, the Sena had repeatedly protested MMRDA’s role and claimed that many agencies ruling Mumbai would lead to chaos.
Speaking with ThePrint, Thackeray alleged the BMC is now plagued with mismanagement and bad investments, driving it towards bankruptcy.
“During our rule in the BMC, we took the fixed deposits (FDs) to Rs 90,000 crore. When Modi visited, he said, ‘FD mein paisa rakhkar vikas nahi hota ji (one cannot do development by keeping the money locked inside FDs). According to my knowledge, they (ruling parties) have already allotted work worth Rs 1 lakh crore, so we are at a negative Rs 10,000 crore already,” he said.
With the MMRDA having got close to Rs 1,000 crore from the BMC for infrastructure work, especially the metro projects, this year, Thackeray said the ruling parties and their contractors are squeezing money out of Mumbai via BMC.
“Till it is a pit, we can fill it, but if it enlarges and becomes a well, we will not be able to fill it. Mumbai will have to stand with a bowl to beg, and if that happens, then Maharashtra is finished,” Thackeray said.
Also read: ‘Alliances for political reasons, but no clean chits’ — Fadnavis rejects ‘washing machine’ tag for BJP
‘If you still have to give free ration, what have you done?’
Thackeray said that voters will throw the BJP government out of power this election, and the country will be “deModified”.
He said young people who voted to make Modi the PM in 2014 are now 10 years older, and their hopes of getting jobs and houses stand dashed as the Modi-led government has not fulfilled any of its promises.
“If you have to give free ration to 80 crore people even after 10 years, what have you done in all these years?” he asked.
Emphasising the importance of states, Thackeray said it is time to decentralise because he feels the Centre is trying to kill the independence of states and municipalities. According to the Constitution, the central government can only interfere in state matters in case of emergencies, not otherwise, he added.
Thackeray also targeted the Centre and the state BJP for taking all industries away from Maharashtra. He questioned the need for taking away industrial development projects such as the bulk drug park, the medical device plant, an upcoming Tata Airbus project, and a diamond bourse to Gujarat.
“(Former CM) Devendra Fadnavis (responding to allegations of industries moving to Gujarat) recently asked whether Gujarat is in Pakistan. I want to ask them (BJP) — Is Maharashtra in Afghanistan? Then, why not in Maharashtra?” Thackeray said.
He also accused the PM of polarising the city on lines of Marathi vs Gujarati. He said Gujaratis and Marathis have coexisted peacefully in Mumbai for many decades. But suddenly, in the last few months, the city has become divided on linguistic lines.
“Modi is trying to build a wall between Gujarat and, in general, the country. He is taking all projects to Gujarat. Why not take some to, say, Uttar Pradesh? This (alleged intention of the PM) will be dangerous for the country,” he said.