Mumbai: Even as the speculations are rife that Aditya Thackeray will become the first member of his family to join the electoral politics, the Shiv Sena is making every effort to thrust the Thackeray scion into the big league of state politics. It was apparent once again when Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray credited him for initiating steps like plastic ban and electric buses for conserving the environment.
Mr Thackeray also said that launch of air-conditioned electric buses became a reality as Aaditya backed the project since the last three to four years — which were instrumental in getting clearances from the Centre.
“The successful implementation of the plastic ban in Mumbai was also appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The plastic ban will also be implemented in other parts of the country now,” Mr Thackeray said. The Prime Minister on his recent visit to Mumbai had also urged people to avoid using plastic.
Speaking at the launch of BEST’s mobile application and ten electric buses, Mr Thackeray also touched upon the issue of job losses during the ongoing economic recession around the world.
“There are signs of recession around the world, with several reports claiming that people are losing their jobs. But Shiv Sena will ensure that no BEST employee will lose his job. The BEST is pride of Mumbai and we will strive to improve its services”.
BEST general manager Surendra Bagade said that he, then municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta, along with Aaditya had held meetings with the Centre to get approvals for electric buses.
The electric buses were launched under the ‘faster adoption and manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles’ policy.
Incidentally, the approval for these buses came from Union heavy industries minister Arvind Sawant, also a Sena MP from Colaba.
