Mumbai Congress releases booklets on 'corruption in BJP'
Mumbai, June 11: A day before Congress President Rahul Gandhi's visit to Maharashtra, the Mumbai Congress on Monday released booklets "exposing deep-rooted corruption" in the state's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Shiv Sena combine.
The booklets detail alleged scams against several state government ministers worth hundreds or thousands of crores of rupees while the common people continue to suffer.
Releasing the booklets, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam listed the names of Women & Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde in the Rs 206 crore Chikki "scam", Cooperatives Minister Subhash Deshmukh in the Rs 110 crore Lokmangal "scam" and Housing Minister Prakash Mehta in the Rs 500-800 crore FSI "scam".
The list includes Education Minister Vinod Tawde in the Rs 191 crore fire extinguisher "scam", Food & Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat allegedly involved in a Rs 4,000 crore "scam", and Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savara in the Rs 300 crore employment department "scam" and the Rs 6,000 crore raincoats "scam".
"These figures show that it is only the government which is living 'achhe din' they promised to the people and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is refraining from taking any action against the corrupt," Nirupam said.
Other booklets include alleged corruption at the centre and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), controlled by the ruling ally Shiv Sena.
Nirupam said the BMC claims to have spent Rs 2,605 crore on waste management, Rs 3,311 crore on health, Rs 2,311 crore on education, Rs 5,061 on water supply and Rs 3,286 crore on roads and skywalks, but sought to know the "actual amounts spent on development as the Mumbaikars continue to suffer".
"Corruption is the mutual belief shared by the BJP leaders at every level. It is extremely disheartening to watch the innocent people who voted form them in the past are now paying the price. We plan to create awareness among the people about such corrupt leaders.." he told media persons.
On the Narendra Modi-led Central government, he noted that the Prime Minister has spent almost Rs 4,300 crors on publicity alone and "clearly, this amount has been used to hide all the wrongdoings of the BJP government".
The booklet details other failures of the Central government like the lowest agricultural growth (1.9 percent) under the BJP compared to 4.2 percent during the Congress rule, failure in waiving off farm loans, continued scams in banks, soaring fuel prices, ineffectiveness in controlling Maoist attacks and the growing violence against the scheduled casts and others in society.
On Tuesday, Gandhi will arrive for a court hearing in Bhiwandi, Thane in a defamation case filed by a RSS worker and later address a rally of over 16,000 booth-level Congress workers in Mumbai.
This will mark the launch of a national endeavour, 'Project Shakti' by which the Congress President will establish direct communication between the grassroots workers and the party's central leadership.
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Kharge likens BJP and RSS to poison; says 'poisonous snake should be killed'
Pune, Nov 17: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday likened the BJP and RSS to "poison" and termed them as "politically most dangerous" in India.
Addressing a rally in Sangli on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly polls concluded, Kharge used the "killing the poisonous snake" analogy in his speech.
"If there is anything which is politically the most dangerous in India is the BJP and RSS. They are like poison. If a snake bites, the person (who is bitten) dies...such a poisonous snake should be killed," said Kharge.
He targeted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the death of 10 newborns in a fire at a medical college.
Without naming Vishal Patil, the Congress rebel and Independent MP from Sangli, Kharge accused him of betraying the party and supporting his sister-in-law, who is contesting as an Independent nominee in the November 20 assembly elections.
In a dig at BJP, Kharge said the number of leaders who campaigned in Maharashtra polls outnumbered the number of candidates of the saffron party in the fray.
"The Prime Minister, Home Minister (Amit Shah) and other leaders have come here. Today, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was also here. No idea what happened to him. In UP, in a fire at a hospital in Jhansi, 10 kids died. Despite that, his rallies in Maharashtra didn't stop," the Congress president said.
Kharge took potshots at PM Narendra Modi for holding rallies for state-level elections.
This is an election for assembly and not to elect the prime minister of the country, he said, adding that his (Modi's) "thirst for authority" is unsatiated.
He slammed Modi for not visiting strife-torn Manipur and instead travelling abroad.
"Modi was here till yesterday. Today he is abroad. Manipur is burning, people are dying, adivasi women are disrespected, and women are raped but Modi never visited Manipur. He is on foreign tours. Today he is also visiting a country. I want to tell him first to look after your home. Make the country strong first. You can go anywhere later," Kharge added.
He questioned the output of Modi's meetings with Donald Trump, Pakistan's prime minister, and presidents of Russia and China from India's perspective.
The 83-year-old leader said his age didn't stop him from supporting the Congress' ideology and meeting people.
"There are leaders who were given positions by the party and benefited. We are not criticising anyone but if the Congress party is giving you everything, you should not betray it," said Kharge in an apparent dig at Vishal Patil.
Kharge said the Congress didn't want any rift in the family of (former chief minister) late Vasantdada Patil, who hailed from Sangli.
"I was told that the Lok Sabha MP from Sangli (Vishal Patil) won with the support of Congress party and Congress party has re-inducted him with respect," he said.
Kharge said he respects the woman candidate who is contesting as an Independent because of her association with Congress.
"I had promised and told Ramesh Chennithala (Maharashtra Congress incharge) that we will offer whatever she wants after the elections. We sent Chennithala and KC Venugopal to talk to them as we did not want any rift in Vasantdada Patil's house and Sangli," he added.
Kharge said his assurances, however, didn't work.
Jayashree Patil, from former chief minister Vasantdada Patil’s family, has entered the fray as an independent candidate from Sangli against Congress nominee Prithviraj Patil.
"It is difficult to wake up those people who are pretending to sleep," Kharge added.
