Opposition blasts Shiv Sena, BJP for deluge

Mumbai: Opposition parties have slammed the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance for the flooding in Mumbai after heavy rains.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar demanded that the Sena-helmed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) be dissolved and an administrator be named to govern the civic body.

Referring to the deluge in the state Assembly, Mr Pawar said, “In the first major rain itself, citizens’ lives have been disrupted. The de-silting works were of no use as the city was flooded. BMC’s tall claims about monsoon preparedness have once again rung hollow.”

Mr Pawar said that the state government should take responsibility for Mumbaikars’ grievances. There is a need to stem corruption in the BMC. The government should dissolve the BMC and if needed, appoint an administrator for the civic body,” he said.

NCP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde criticised the ruling combine over water logging in the city and demanded structural audits of roads, bridges and buildings in the city following the wall collapse incident.

Making a pitch for audit of various structures in the city, Mr Munde said, “We have been demanding such audits in the house. But it will be possible only if the ruling parties find some time from elections.”

Former chief minister and state Congress president Ashok Chavan said that if the Sena chief had concentrated on cleaning the nullahs of the city, instead of dev darshan (Ayodhya visit) along with newly-elected MPs, Mumbai would not have been submerged owing to rainfall. Coming down heavily on the Sena, he said that despite being in power in the municipal corporation for two decades, the party had failed to provide basis amenities to Mumbaikars.

Mr Chavan asked the BJP-Sena to acknowledge that the deluge-related deaths in the city were due to corruption. He asserted that while those guilty would be given clean chits by the government, doing so would not bring back lost lives. Mr Chavan asked for an assurance that there would be no repeat of such incidents.

It is to be noted that the Sena, has been controlling Asia’s riches civic body since 1997. In 2017 polls, Sena won its fifth straight election. On the other hand, BJP came a close second in the polls.