Piyush Goyal On Aditya Thackeray: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray on Saturday (March 30) accused the BJP of planning to forcibly remove slums from Mumbai and shift the people living in them to salt pan land.
Aditya Thackeray targeted the comments of BJP candidate from Mumbai (North) Lok Sabha seat and Union Minister Piyush Goyal at a press conference in Mumbai.
Later, Piyush Goyal targeted Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray for their ‘anti-development’ agenda and attack on the rights of Mumbai slum dwellers. Hitting back, Union Minister Piyush Goyal wrote on Twitter, “Uddhav Thackeray and his sons cannot decide the fate of Mumbai…”
Piyush Goyal targets Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray
In a post on social media platform ‘X’, Piyush Goyal said, “Uddhav Thackeray ji and his sons cannot give any orders regarding the lives of the people of Mumbai. The city sustains the dreams and aspirations of those who call it home. People who live in slums also have the right to live a better life.
Earlier in an interview to a media house, Piyush Goyal had said that if elected, he would work on a project that would completely clean this constituency. This area includes the northern suburbs like Malad, Kandivali and Borivali.
Piyush Goyal had welcomed the idea of redistributing salt-covered land in Mumbai for slum rehabilitation.
This is a very dangerous plan- Aditya Thackeray
Thackeray said, “This is a very dangerous plan. The people who live in slums, their livelihood revolves around there. We will not let them (BJP) go ahead with their plan of shifting slums to such areas.
Thackeray, who was a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, alleged, “BJP’s policy is not to eliminate poverty, but to eliminate poor people.” ‘ and referred to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, under which it is proposed to settle some residents on some land in the ‘salt belt’ in north-eastern Mumbai.
Thackeray said that the decision on transfer will be taken by the people of Mumbai, not the Centre. He said that when the MVA government had asked for the relevant land (salt pan land) for the Metro Rail Car Shed project, the Center refused to grant permission.
Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad also surrounded BJP
Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad said that BJP’s agenda is to settle the poor on the land laden with salt. He asked what is the need to shift slum dwellers to ‘salt pan land’ in Mumbai when there is a policy to rehabilitate them at the same place. Gaikwad alleged that BJP’s trick is not poverty but to remove poor people.