Pankaja says taking break for couple of months,jibes BJP colleagues over silence on NCP developments
Mumbai, Jul 7: Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde on Friday said she was planning to take a break for "one or two months" as she was anguished at her integrity being questioned time and again.
She said her party would have to answer if she had merit and asserted that only time will tell if she was treated unfairly.
Munde also panned the media for taking some of her statements out of context or misquoting her, adding that she planned to sue one channel which reported on her meeting Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
In a swipe, the former Parli MLA also said her party colleagues had worked hard on the campaign to highlight nine years of the Narendra Modi government but were not mustering courage to speak on recent developments in Maharashtra, a reference to the NCP split and a faction joining the Eknath Shinde government.
The former state minister and daughter of party stalwart late Gopinath Munde said she wanted the BJP's ideology of Deendayal Upadhyaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remain as she had grown up on that sentiment.
Addressing a press conference, Munde said post her defeat in the 2019 Assembly polls from Parli, her name came up for nomination to the Rajya Sabha and two times for the Maharashtra Legislative Council but she was asked to not go ahead at the last moment.
"I have never commented on this in public and have obeyed the party directive. i have never worked against the party's interest. Where is politics going...nobody is interested in what people think, I am going to introspect," she said.
Speaking about the split in the Shiv Sena (in June last year) and the NCP (on July 2 this year), Munde said, "I am a BJP worker who believes in the ideology of Deendayal Upadhaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I want that ideology to remain as I have grown up with that sentiment," she asserted.
Munde claimed portions of her speeches were sometimes take out of context and speculations were made on what she had said, because of which she had decided to take a break "not from my work but from you (media)".
Munde said she would sue the media channel that reported that she met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and that a politician from Sangli was playing mediator.
She, however, added she was the (state) in charge of Madhya Pradesh and would answer questions related to the election campaign. Assembly polls are slated for the year-end.
Speaking about a tweet of her cousin and Parli MLA Dhananjay Munde, the BJP leader said she did not know why it was uploaded during the day.
Pankaja Munde had met her cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde recently, with the latter on Friday tweeting a photograph where the BJP general secretary is seen performing 'aukshan' (lamp based ritual for someone's well-being).
In the tweet, Dhananjay Munde said she had greeted him for being made minister in the Eknath Shinde government, adding that "brother sister relations are strong in happiness and sadness".
Dhananjay Munde had defeated her from Parli in the 2019 Assembly polls.
Referring indirectly to the NCP split and a faction joining the state government, she said 105 BJP MLAs worked had on the campaign highlighting nine years of Modi rule, but they did not have the courage to comment on the latest developments.
"I do not indulge in dishonest politics. The party should answer whether I have merit or not. Only time will tell whether I was treated unfairly," she claimed.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis tried to assuage the feelings of his colleague.
He said Pankaja Munde was a senior leader and the party would speak to her on her statement about taking a break and would try to find out what is on her mind.
Speaking about an NCP faction aligning with the BJP and her struggles in the party, Fadnavis said the recent developments may not be "welcomed by everyone all of a sudden" but added that "dialogue is the answer to all and our senior leaders will talk to her".
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Mumbai-Pune Expressway ‘missing link’ to open on May 1; will improve travel safety: Shinde
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the long-awaited ‘missing link’ on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, aimed at bypassing the winding Bhor Ghat section and improving safety, will be inaugurated on May 1.
Shinde, who inspected the project site, said the new stretch will make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the hilly section.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is likely to inaugurate the 13.3-km-long missing link, which connects Khopoli on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala, on Maharashtra Day, which is celebrated on May 1, he said.
The deputy CM said that 99 per cent of the project work has been completed. “I personally inspected the quality of work and found it satisfactory. The remaining minor works will be completed in the next few days,” Shinde said.
Shinde said the new alignment will bypass sharp curves and accident-prone stretches in the ghat section, helping reduce delays and improve commuter safety. He claimed accidents in the section would reduce substantially once the project becomes operational.
“The missing link project will make travel between Mumbai and Pune quicker, safer and more convenient, and will contribute significantly to the state’s development,” he said.
The Rs 6,700-crore project, developed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), includes two tunnels, high viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley.
The missing link will reduce the travel distance between Mumbai and Pune by approximately 6 km and shorten the journey time by 20 to 30 minutes, said officials.
Initially, only light motor vehicles and buses will be permitted on the new stretch to reduce congestion on the existing ghat section, officials said, adding that heavy goods vehicles will be prohibited due to safety concerns.
“There will be no toll hike because of the missing link project. No increase has been proposed at the Khalapur toll plaza either,” Shinde said.
The project comprises two eight-lane tunnels of 1.75 km and 8.92 km in length and two viaducts measuring 850 metres and 650 metres, said officials. It has been designed to bypass the old Khandala ghat section, a winding route that has long slowed down traffic and posed safety risks, said officials.
The 650-metre viaduct will feature what officials described as India’s tallest road cable-stayed bridge, with pylons rising to 182 metres, taller than those on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
Officials claimed that the tunnels have a width of 23.75 metres and are among the widest road tunnels in the world. An MSRDC official said the tunnel is likely to be included in the Guinness Book of Records.
The route runs beneath the Lonavala lake area and was executed in difficult terrain marked by heavy rainfall and strong winds, officials said.
Shinde said projects such as the missing link would boost access to tourist destinations such as Lohagad Fort, Visapur Fort and Karla Caves.
MP Shrirang Barne, former corporator Abasaheb Bagul, MSRDC Managing Director Anilkumar Gaikwad and senior engineers from executing agencies were present during the inspection, officials said.
Krishnamurthy Subramanian, executive chairman of construction and engineering company Afcons International Private Limited, said the journey to completion of “India’s highest road cable-stayed bridge” was challenging.
“The bridge, located in the Sahyadri region, presented extreme challenges, including narrow ridges that left little room for heavy machinery, sudden wind speeds reaching up to 100 kmph, and dense fog reducing visibility to a few metres. Despite these conditions, we are proud to deliver this engineering marvel,” he said.
The expressway, spanning approximately 95 km, holds the distinction of being India's first access-controlled highway.
