Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 9 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, criticising his recent confrontational stance regarding the “Missing Link” infrastructure project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
Retaliating to the Chief Minister’s warning, Raut on X questioned the atmosphere of governance in the state and asked whether an “Emergency” had been imposed in Maharashtra and alleged that corruption, looting and intimidation had become hallmarks of the present administration.
“Failure, Ego, Arrogance, and so on and so forth… All this will come to an end in a moment! Maharashtra needs a cultured Chief Minister! But what can one do? The mine is just dirt! Has Devendra Fadnavis imposed an Emergency in Maharashtra? Government-sponsored corruption, looting, and mob rule–this very Emergency is the one where the people aren’t allowed to speak out!” Raut said in his post.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also shared a video clip from the ongoing Maharashtra Legislative Monsoon Session in which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while defending the project in the Assembly, issued a stern warning to critics.
In the clip, Fadnavis said, “Hamare Jayantrao ji ne sahi baat kahi, jinko kutta nahin ponchta, woh aajkal social media par aakar sabko gaali dete han, mukhyamantri ko bhi gaali dete han. Aise kuch bhaade ke tattu, iss mising link ke baare mein bhi paisa le-laker social media par likh rahe the, unko bhi keh dena chahta hun, agar Maharashtra ka apmaan karoge, chhodoonga nahin.” (Our Jayantrao ji said the right thing. Those who even a dog doesn’t notice come on social media these days and abuse everyone, even the Chief Minister. Some such hired trolls were also writing about this ‘Missing Link’ on social media after taking money. I want to tell them too, if you insult Maharashtra, I will not spare you.)
https://x.com/rautsanjay61/status/2075069115580961209
The remarks came a day after Fadnavis defended the Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s Missing Link project in the Maharashtra Assembly following criticism over a landslide near one of its tunnels after heavy rainfall.
Responding to a discussion on heavy rains and flood management, the Chief Minister said initial challenges were inevitable in major infrastructure projects and accused some critics of deliberately spreading misinformation through television, social media and paid campaigns. He asserted that the Missing Link was an engineering achievement that had reduced accidents in the ghat section and improved traffic movement between Mumbai and Pune.
Fadnavis also said governments could not abandon major infrastructure projects due to fears of landslides, drawing a comparison with the Konkan Railway, which also witnessed landslides during its initial years before engineering improvements addressed the problem. He said the government had consulted experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), who had recommended additional protective measures that would be implemented to strengthen the project’s safety.
The controversy follows heavy rainfall that triggered landslides in the Mumbai-Pune ghat section earlier this week, disrupting both rail and road connectivity. The landslide near the Missing Link tunnel led to the suspension of traffic on the Mumbai-bound carriageway, while several train services were cancelled or diverted as restoration work continued amid persistent rainfall. (ANI)
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