Congress is worried about its ally NCP speaking the same language as Sena and MNS.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seems to be shedding its reservations when it comes to championing the cause for those rights of Mumbaikars that have been raised by both Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in the past.
On Saturday, the NCP cabinet minister for rural development, Jayant Patil, decided to pursue the agenda set by MNS president Raj Thackeray, demanding that people living on streets cannot be eligible to votes in the Brihmamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Even the Sena has been protesting against what they think is a Congress ploy to raise its vote count by promoting migrants and floating street residents in the city.
A sources in the NCP says, “The NCP has always strived to impress Marathi voters Mumbai while Congress always woos migrants.” Patil has been among the NCP ministers who has been vocal about the rights of people from the state when it comes to railway recruitments or higher funds allocations from the centre.
Patil said, “I am not against slum dwellers. But I certainly oppose the decision to register street people as citizens of Mumbai. I will pursue the matter with the state election commission. If we allow them to vote, individual politicians will adopt devious methods to build their vote banks ahead of elections.”
He explained, “Politicians will then get people from different places ahead of the elections to enhance their vote bank. And once the elections are through, these people will disperse to their respective states.”
Patil, who is the guardian minister of Mumbai, has justified the concerns raised by Raj Thackeray. Earlier, Raj had termed the election commission decision to make street residents voters a threat to Mumbai’s security.
The Congress has taken note of NCP leaders justifying the agendas of Sena and MNS. A Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) general secretary said, “On Friday, Sharad Pawar appreciated the growth of Shiv Sena and for raising issues relevant to the sons of the soil at a social function to commemorate the 75th birthday of senior Sena leader and former Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi. A day later, Patil has come out in support of Raj. We hope these gestures are not beyond their stated purpose, especially at a time when the state is heading for crucial local bodies polls.”
Interestingly, Congress restlessness has grown after Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule personally visited Sena chief Bal Thackeray last week to thank the party for their support after a young man, Harvinder Singh, slapped the union agriculture minister in Delhi.
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