Eknath Shinde calls Uddhav Thackeray ‘anti-development‘, ex-CM says Maharashtra stands behind him

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde criticizes Uddhav Thackeray's "anti-development" Maha Vikas Aghadi government, while Uddhav takes aim at Shinde's rebel faction.

Censuring the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government as “anti-development,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said Mr. Thackeray merely sat at home for the two-and-a-half years he was CM of the State.

“He [Mr. Thackeray] was just sitting at home and showing off for the two-and-a-half years that he was CM. But it is our Mahayuti government that is actually carrying out the development of Mumbai,” said Mr. Shinde, during his weekly cleanliness drive in Mumbai city.

The CM said that Mr. Thackeray had opposed the Metro car shed at Aarey in Mumbai, the construction of lines for the Mumbai Metro and had even tried to slow down the construction of the Samruddhi highway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur.

“They [the MVA] have no moral right to point a finger at us,” said Mr. Shinde, whose revolt against Mr. Thackeray in June 2022 vertically split the Shiv Sena and triggered the collapse of the MVA government.

Citing the achievements of the current government, Mr. Shinde said that modern technology had been used for the construction of the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL), said to be the longest sea-bridge in the country.

“The quantity of steel used for this bridge is four times of the Howrah bridge in Kolkata,” Mr. Shinde said.

The bridge begins from Sewri in Mumbai and terminates at Nhava Sheva in Raigad district. The MTHL, also known as ‘Atal Setu’ after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 12.