New Delhi: The Congress attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday by posing questions to him on Mumbai, asking why is the metropolis “made to lose” big-ticket projects to Gujarat and why is the BJP “sponsoring Adani’s Dharavi land grab”.
Ahead of Modi’s poll engagement in Mumbai, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed five questions which he said the people are asking the PM.
He asked whether the BJP is scared of losing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
“The Mahayuti government’s repeated delays in holding the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections is a blatant attack on democracy and the rights of Mumbai’s citizens. The government claims that the delays are due to issues like OBC reservations and ward delimitation but the reality is that the BJP was afraid of facing the electorate, fearing a loss that would undermine its image before the elections,” Ramesh alleged in his post on X.
“With the BMC under an un-elected administrator, the ruling coalition has been using the civic body’s funds and resources to benefit its own MLAs and supporters,” he alleged.
Without elected representatives, Mumbai’s citizens have also struggled to get their voices heard and grievances addressed by the BMC, Ramesh said.
“This is a clear attempt to consolidate power, and a blatant subversion of democratic principles. Why has the BJP betrayed the people of Mumbai? How much longer do the people have to wait to have their voices heard?” he said.
Ramesh further asked why is the BJP “sponsoring Adani’s Dharavi land-grab”.
“The Dharavi Redevelopment Project has turned into a BJP-sponsored land grab for the non-biological PM’s best friend, the Adani Group. The latest tender, floated by the Mahayuti government in September 2022, was allegedly geared specifically towards the Adani Group, the eventual winner,” he alleged.
The structure of the Adani-led Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established through this tender served to completely alienate Dharavi’s seven lakh residents, he said.
The share of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority was reduced to 20 per cent, the ability of residents to negotiate at the planning level was removed and the process of public debate and participation that had emerged from the start of the process was scrapped in its entirety, Ramesh said.
“The new tender has also gifted the Adani group an inordinate amount of valuable Transferable Development Rights (TDR) — the original tender only awarded 5 crore square feet of TDR to the developer, but the Adani remaster has gifted the group a whopping 10.5 crore square feet,” he said.
While only 54,461 slum inhabitants and 9,522 residents living in chawls and buildings will receive homes within Dharavi according to the latest documents, Adani is anticipating astronomical profits and a profit margin that could be as high as 434 per cent, Ramesh claimed.
“A November 2023 notification issued by the Maharashtra government provided numerous additional concessions to the Adani group, including higher valuations for Dharavi TDR and a rule that 40% of all TDR used in any construction project in the city must come from Dharavi,” he said.
Just before it is set to lose power in the elections on November 20 (the day voting takes place in Maharashtra), the Mahayuti went on overdrive to clear permissions for the project in Dharavi, he claimed.
“This lucrative ‘revdi’ for the Adani Group comes at the expense of millions of Mumbaikars, not just the residents of Dharavi. Does the non-biological PM have any defence for the massive loot that he is orchestrating in full public gaze?” Ramesh said.
He also asked why was Mumbai made to lose so many big-ticket projects to Gujarat.
“Under BJP rule, many big-ticket projects that were best-suited to Mumbai’s economy have been shifted to Gujarat,” he alleged.
Ramesh pointed out that an International Financial Services Center (IFSC) has been set up only in GIFT City in Gujarat despite Mumbai having been India’s financial capital for almost 200 years.
In 2006, then PM Manmohan Singh had begun the effort to set up the IFSC in Mumbai and land was also set aside for the project in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) but this was later reallocated to the bullet train, the Congress leader said.
The PM’s repeated refusal to set up the IFSC in Mumbai could end up costing the city up to 2 lakh jobs, he claimed, adding that Mumbai’s diamond industry has faced a similar fate.
He also flagged the issue of Mumbai’s air pollution.
Given the threat that air pollution poses to the lives of Mumbai’s citizens, the Maharashtra government’s callousness is truly appalling, the Congress leader said.
He further asked why are Mumbai’s local trains getting more crowded and unsafe.
“Despite how crucial the local trains are for Mumbaikars, they have only faced neglect in the last ten years,” Ramesh said.
Earlier in the day, ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s rallies in Maharashtra, Ramesh posed three questions to him, including what is his vision to address water scarcity in Marathwada.
Why is the Mahayuti and the Union Government keen on “undermining” Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Ramesh asked.
He further asked what is Modi’s vision to address water scarcity in Marathwada.
He also asked why the Indian Railways performed so poorly in the Nanded division.
The railway infrastructure in Nanded division, which serves many areas in Marathwada, has been subjected to blatant neglect by the Modi government, he claimed.
His remarks come amid campaigning for the upcoming voting in Maharashtra.
The counting of votes will take place on November 23.
