Shinde attacks MVA for “obstructing development”, corruption

CM Eknath Shinde attacks MVA for blocking ₹8.89 lakh crore in projects, citing his government's achievements and commitment to farmers during the campaign.

MUMBAI: Addressing the media while concluding the Mahayuti alliance’s campaign for the assembly elections, chief minister Eknath Shinde launched an attack on the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, accusing it of obstructing developmental projects worth ₹8.89 lakh crore during its two-and-a-half-year tenure. Alongside, he held forth on the achievements of his government in comparison, and said that the Mahayuti would come back to power as it was “the need of the hour”.

Shinde attacks MVA for “obstructing development”, corruption

Shinde held nearly 75 meetings in his campaign and also addressed 15 meetings online. Citing several infra projects like the Coastal Road, Atal Setu, Metro 3, Metro car shed, Jalyukta Shivar Yojana, Marathwada water grid, and the Samruddhi highway, he said they were partially or fully completed by his government. On the other hand, mega projects like the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, Barsu refinery, Vadhavan port, Dharavi redevelopment, Gargai dam, and the Mumbai Central public park at Mahalaxmi Racecourse had been delayed or halted by the MVA, he claimed, resulting in an estimated loss of 1.4 lakh jobs and project cost escalations of ₹15,200 crore.

Shinde also charged the MVA with alleged corruption in the management of Covid-19, including irregularities in body bags and food supplies. “They took money from Covid centres, body bags, and even khichdi meant for the poor of Mumbai,” he remarked.

The CM said his government was committed to farmers, and had spent ₹45,000 crore on various schemes for them over the past two and a half years. Its major initiatives, he said, included compensation for losses due to heavy rains, hailstorms, and snail infestations, and revision of the compensation guidelines to expand aid eligibility from two hectares to three hectares. “We gave crop insurance for just ₹1 and increased financial support for agricultural activities from ₹12,000 to ₹15,000 per annum,” he said.

Shinde also criticised the MVA for approving only four irrigation projects during its tenure, compared to the 124 projects he said were approved by the Mahayuti government, “bringing millions of hectares of land under irrigation”.