Raj Thackeray criticises BJP, state govt over bridge mishap

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government for the bridge accident over the Savitri River on the Mumbai-Goa Highway and stated it had no value for human lives.

Mr Thackeray was speaking during a press meet after touring the flood-affected parts of Nashik City on the Godavari banks in Nashik. His pet project ‘Goda Park’ built on the river banks was completely destroyed in the floods.

Mayor and MNS leader Ashok Murtadak, Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) commissioner Abhishek Krishna, standing committee chairman Salim Shaikh and other office bearers and NMC officials accompanied him.

Comparing the British government and the present BJP-led government, Mr Thackeray said, “The British had the welfare of the people at heart but the Fadnavis government does not, and there is no value for human lives. Sometimes I feel the country should be given for governance on a build-operate–transfer basis,” he quipped.

“These floods and devastation are due to the foolish decision to regularise unauthorised structures in Nashik. Not only Goda Park, the entire Godavari area has been destroyed,” he lamented.

Further criticising the state government, Mr Thackeray stated that Mr Fadnavis had not removed his mantle as an Opposition leader. “They have power in their hands. They should complete the backlog in Vidarbha and develop the region. To divert public attention, they raise the Vidarbha issue. This is filibustering,” he said.

He further criticised the state government and said it was fooling the people. “The Congress, Nationalist Party (NCP), BJP and Sena are all in it together,” he claimed. Speaking on the ongoing feud between his cousin brothers, Mr Thackeray said that he did not want to enter the fight between Uddhav and Jaidev Thackeray.