 "Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray. Photo: PTI")
After deciding to battle it out with the saffron ally in Mumbai civic polls, Shiv Sena on Friday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) central leadership did not approve of the state party leaders "malicious" allegations regarding the functioning of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The Sena's dig at BJP came in the backdrop of the economic survey tabled in Parliament putting the Mumbai civic body, controlled by Sena for two decades, at the top on the count of transparency.
While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently said that BJP will not compromise on the issue of transparency and accountability in BMC, the party's local leaders have consistently attacked Sena, alleging large-scale corruption and non-transparency in running the cash-rich urban body.
"BJP had been saying that alliance will happen if there is transparency in the BMC. After the (economic) survey, it has become clear that flagging transparency was just an excuse for the BJP leaders to demand a larger chunk of seats. The BMC has achieved the feat (referring to the economic survey) despite having little backing from the Centre and the state government," an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana said.
"All works for citizens have been done despite political 'mafiagiri' and baseless allegations," it said.
The Sena said it is ironic that the clean functioning of the BMC has not been replicated in civic bodies run by those who are hurling "malicious" charges at it.
"Municipal corporations of Delhi, Chandigarh and Bhopal are at the bottom of the list. While BJP rules in MP, Delhi is governed by the PM himself. Why is there no transparency in these municipal corporations as desired by state BJP leaders?" it asked.
"People who are eyeing the BMC can level allegations but the people will not believe any of it. Now, even your own central government is not ready to believe these malicious allegations," the Sena said.
"You need to keep your feet on the ground when you get power. But, there are some who constantly are flying. This flying will now end and the time to go on knees and start crawling on the ground will soon start. That day is not far," the Sena said.
Sena and BJP, despite being partners in government in Maharashtra and at the Centre, have failed to strike a pre-poll pact for the civic polls in Mumbai and other city corporations across the state, setting the stage for a shrill campaign.
