CM hits out at Sena-BJP over BMC’s financial mess

With the civic polls just a fortnight away, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has hit out at the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, alleging large-scale corruption during their 17-year-long rule.

With the civic polls just a fortnight away, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has hit out at the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, alleging large-scale corruption during their 17-year-long rule. He said Mumbaiites must vote for the Congress-NCP combine on February 16 for the city to get better administration and an all-inclusive growth.

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“City’s development is all about managing the Centre's funds properly. Sena-BJP has failed miserably on all fronts over the years. They tweaked tenders, spent more as costs overshot and approved big money for contractors,” Chavan told HT on Friday.

The chief minister, who has turned the battle for Brihan-Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) into a UPA v NDA clash, said the civic body’s financial system has many leakages. “My main agenda to campaign will be to expose Sena-BJP for this lapse,” he said.

Highlighting the need to imp-rove coordination between the BMC and state government, Chavan said it is crucial for turning Mumbai into an international city. If Congress-NCP, the ruling alliance in the state, is voted to power in the civic polls, the friction between BMC and state government would not exist, he said.

Rejecting the theory that rebellion in the ranks would hamper Congress’ poll prospects, Chavan said, “Looking at the size of BMC polls, the number of rebels is less significant. We’ve distributed tickets in a transparent manner and have kept people with criminal backgrounds away," the chief minister said.