Twitter feud between Cong MLA and Maha housing minister over flats for legislators

Awhad on Thursday had announced that 300 flats are being built in Goregaon on a plot owned by Mhada for the legislators

Mumbai: State government’s decision to provide low-cost housing to 300 legislators has drawn flak from its MVA ally Congress. A virtual slugfest erupted between Housing Minister and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad and Congress legislator Zeeshan Siddique on Twitter over this issue.

The houses will be 2 BHK (Bedroom, hall and kitchen) with a carpet area ranging between 600 and 900 square feet. Currently, the market rate of this 2 BHK in Goregaon is a minimum of ₹1.25 crore. (HT File Photo)

Siddique posted that he will not accept a house when thousands of his voters in the Vandre (East) constituency were living in dilapidated conditions. He urged the state government to divert this money towards building houses for such people instead of MLAs.

Responding to Siddique’s tweet, Awhad said that the scheme was meant for legislators hailing from rural Maharashtra who will be paying for the same. “You have 10 houses worth crores and this scheme is meant only for #MLA of rural #Maharashtra and not for Mumbai and I thought u have good understanding nobody is getting a house free of cost ..Hope u have understood it now,” he wrote.

Not to be outdone, Siddique taunted Awhad, “Sir I’m glad u finally found the time to reply to me on Twitter as u haven’t been able to reply to me last few days in the assembly regarding SRA issues of my constituency Vandre east. As for houses worth crores of rupees, the whole country knows what you own Housing Minister Sir.”

Awhad on Thursday had announced that 300 flats are being built in Goregaon on a plot owned by Mhada for the legislators elected from outside Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). He later clarified that these houses will cost the legislators ₹70 lakh.

The houses will be 2 BHK (Bedroom, hall and kitchen) with a carpet area ranging between 600 and 900 square feet. Currently, the market rate of this 2 BHK in Goregaon is a minimum of ₹1.25 crore.

Another Congress legislator Praniti Shinde, who is the daughter of former Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, said the money should be given to rural patients coming to Mumbai for treatment.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) sole MLA Raju Patil said, “Why should MLAs be given flats by the government. The state should utilise the money to give free electricity up to 200 units to the poor,” said Patil.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in its report had stated that 264 or 93% of the total 288 MLAs in the current Assembly have assets worth more than ₹1 crore, while 180 of them have declared their assets to be more than ₹5 crore.