“Welcome Prime Minister….!” Shiv Sena mocks at PM’s Mumbai visit

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 19 (ANI): Mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his visit to Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Thursday said that his coming to the city was just another “campaign for his party’, not for any welfare of the state.

“Modi is visiting Mumbai for a few hours and it is being said that in these few hours, he will lay the foundation for the bright future of Mumbai. But the question is since when did the BJP start worrying about Mumbai’s future and fortune? This propaganda that the Prime Minister is incarnating for the bright future of Mumbai is false. He is campaigning for his party, but can the saffron of the Shiv Sena be removed from Mumbai?” the editorial argued. It further said that Mumbai would be blessed only if no attempt is made to “loot” the labour of Marathis.

“The fate of Mumbai was built by the Marathi people with their own labour and the buildings of ‘Delhiswars’ were raised on the loot of the same Mumbai. 105 martyrs built Mumbai’s future and fortune, if no attempt is made to loot it, then Mumbai will be blessed,” the ‘Saamana’ said.

Hitting out at the Maharashtra government led by Eknath Shinde, the editorial said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has swallowed the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) as a crocodile does with a frog.

For the PM’s tour, cut-outs of BJP leaders are visibly bigger than Balasaheb’s cut-outs put up in Mumbai. Why are those who call themselves Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena silent on this, the Sena mouthpiece said.

“The Prime Minister, programs like the inauguration of ambitious projects, Bhumi Pujan etc. have been organized. The BJP has decorated Mumbai with its flag to welcome the Prime Minister. Somewhere in this, the Shinde group made a futile attempt to show its existence, but the crocodile has swallowed the frog, in the same way, this group has been swallowed and the picture of the frog going into the jaws of the crocodile is visible,” it said.

The Shiv Sena further claimed that most of the development projects which the PM will inaugurate today were done by Shiva Sena in the Municipal Corporation.
“PM is about to inaugurate a super speciality hospital in Bhandup. Shiv Sena had given a promise regarding this hospital in its promissory note and in 2017 itself, a provision of Rs 150 crore was made to complete this work. The planning of the Mumbai sewerage project is going on for the last 10-12 years. To remove the obstacles of various permissions, Central Pollution Board, and the Municipal Corporation took this matter to the Supreme Court and after the order of the Supreme Court, in May 2022, the tender process of this work was completed and a ‘work order’ was given. Most of the development works of which the Prime Minister is going to perform Bhumi Pujan, inauguration, etc. in Mumbai, were given the go ahead when Shiv Sena was in power in the Municipal Corporation. The Bharatiya Janata Party may try to take credit for this work, but the public knows everything,” it claimed.

Taking a jibe, the editorial said, “Projects worth 2.25 lakh crore were taken away from Maharashtra. This is an economic blow to Mumbai. Took away the morsel from the unemployed youth of Maharashtra. Should this be called the fate of Mumbai-Maharashtra? A crowd gathering has been planned for Prime Minister Modi’s meeting and the security wall of the University of Mumbai at Kalina was broken to facilitate the parking of vehicles for the visitors. Controversy arose regarding this. Mumbai’s fortunes began by breaking the walls of the university. Every major structure of Mumbai is being hammered in this way. Still welcome to our Prime Minister! Yes!!”

PM Modi will reach Mumbai by the evening to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 38,800 crores in Mumbai. He will inaugurate two lines of the Mumbai Metro and also enjoy a metro ride.

To provide seamless urban mobility, he will dedicate to the nation Mumbai Metro Rail Lines 2A and 7, worth around Rs 12,600 crore. The metro line 2A connecting Dahisar E and DN Nagar (yellow line) is around 18.6 km long, while metro line 7 connecting Andheri E – Dahisar E (red line) is around 16.5 km long. The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone of these lines in 2015.

During the visit, PM Modi will also launch MUMBAI 1 Mobile App and National Common Mobility Card (Mumbai 1). The app will facilitate ease of travel, can be shown at the entry gates of metro stations and supports digital payment to buy tickets through UPI. The National Common Mobility Card (Mumbai 1) will initially be used in metro corridors and can be extended to other modes of mass public transit including local trains and buses as well. Commuters will not need to carry multiple cards or cash; the NCMC card will enable quick, contactless, digital transactions, thereby easing the process with a seamless experience, according to the PMO statement.

The Prime Minister will further lay the foundation stone of seven sewage treatment plants, which will be built at a cost of around Rs 17,200 crore. These sewage treatment plants will be set up in Malad, Bhandup, Versova, Ghatkopar, Bandra, Dharavi and Worli. They will have a combined capacity of around 2,460 MLD.