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Post meet with Ajit Pawar: NCP will not support PMC plan to lease amenity spaces in Pune, says Vandana Chavan
PUNE After a meeting with party leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday in the city, elected officials of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to oppose a Pune proposal by the BJP-ruled Pune municipal corporation (PMC), to lease out amenity spaces
PUNE After a meeting with party leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday in the city, elected officials of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to oppose a Pune proposal by the BJP-ruled Pune municipal corporation (PMC), to lease out amenity spaces.
Earlier, due to contradictory stands taken by NCP leaders, there was some confusion created as regards the party’s stand on this matter.
On Sunday, deputy chief minister in the MVA government ruling the state, and guardian minister of Pune, Ajit Pawar held a meeting with prominent NCP leaders from the city to listen to opinions on the issue.
At the meeting, it was decided to oppose the ruling BJP’s proposal of leasing out amenity spaces in the city.
“We have now decided to oppose the proposal. Now there is no question if they accept our conditions or not. It was only for that day. NCP has a clear stand about the amenity spaces. We had demanded that 1/3 of 185 plots should be reserved for urban forests; 1/3 should be kept for children’s parks and gardens and 1/3 should be for other amenities. We had put this condition before the BJP because they had approached us,” said Vandana Chavan, NCP leader, and Rajya Sabha MP, present at the meeting held at the circuit house in Pune.
According to another NCP leader, also present at the meeting, supporting the BJP’s proposal was thought of as a bad strategy ahead of the municipal elections.
Apart from opposing the leasing of amenity spaces, NCP has also decided to oppose other BJP-led proposals at the civic level, such as selling of apartments owned by PMC.
“Currently, root-level party workers of MVA are working together. Agreeing with BJP would send a wrong political message. So, we will oppose the amenity-space lease plan. If BJP tries to push on the basis of its majority in GB, then the state government can suspend that decision using its prerogative,” said a NCP leader on the condition of anonymity.
