E-Paper
Fadnavis slams Opposition over Kumbh corruption allegations
The CM was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the three-day Kumbh Bhakti Festival, featuring religious leaders and sadhus from across the country, ahead of next year’s Kumbh Mela.
Prefer HTon Google
Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday accused the Opposition of allegedly pursuing a “well-planned strategy” to defame Sanatan Dharma by making baseless corruption allegations over projects being undertaken for next year’s Kumbh Mela in Nashik.
“Similar attempts were made to defame Sanatan Dharma after the theft incident at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Some had even alleged that donations worth ₹1,800 crore were stolen from the temple,” Fadnavis said.
“These elements are making baseless allegations to tarnish the image of the Hindu religion. But it will not be easy for them to mislead people, as they know the reality,” he added.
Fadnavis was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the three-day Kumbh Bhakti Festival, featuring religious leaders and sadhus from across the country, ahead of next year’s Kumbh Mela.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan recently alleged corruption in the awarding of contracts for Kumbh-related works and claimed the tenders were not finalised transparently. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had made similar allegations last year.
“The details of all tenders that have been finalised are in the public domain. The bids are being finalised transparently. In fact, for some projects, such as the Ghoti-Trimbakeshwar road, the bids were finalised 36% below the amount earmarked for the project,” Fadnavis said.
The state government is implementing infrastructure projects worth more than ₹34,000 crore in Nashik city and Trimbakeshwar, the two venues for the Kumbh Mela.
“All efforts are being made by the authorities to complete the projects as soon as possible. Residents of Nashik and Trimbakeshwar are facing problems due to the ongoing works. But once the projects are completed, Nashik will have a strong infrastructure base for the next 50 years,” he said.
Earlier, Fadnavis inaugurated the new sub-centre building of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) and a new agriculture college established by the Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj.
“There is an imperative need to bring farmers out of the vicious cycle of debt, and we will have to build a system based on new technology. Agricultural colleges should play an important role in reducing production costs and increasing productivity in the agriculture sector,” he said.
At the SPPU event, Fadnavis said universities should go beyond producing graduates and create incubation ecosystems to help turn students’ innovative ideas into industries and startups.
