Prithviraj Chavan opens fire at Pawars, Vilasrao Deshmukh

He didn’t show it, but clearly Chief Minister (CM) Prithviraj Chavan was apologetic over his comment on the Shiv Sena (“Sena will be inconsequential after its debacle in Mumbai”) and tried to clear the air over the remarks which he claimed were wrongly interpreted. “What I wanted to say is that once we win in Mumbai, Sena’s power in the state will be diminished. I want to pitch this fight as NDA vs UPA. Sena rules Mumbai and draws its strength from the city that has a budget larger than 12 states in India,” the CM said during his interaction with editors in Pune on Friday.

Chavan surely must have read Saamna before entering the venue since Sena chief Bal Thackeray had gone ballistic in his party mouthpiece over his comment on Sena’s future. Thackeray called him inept and said he lacked self-respect. Chavan’s tame response did not befit his name - Prithviraj (one who rules the planet).

But the man didn’t hold his punches while taking potshots at his alliance party chief Sharad Pawar or his deputy Ajit Pawar.

“I understand some people want the Metro project in city to go underground, but the costs are going to be prohibitive - at least triple the current project cost. Let’s not discuss this at our level and let the experts - both technical and economic experts handle this issue. Eventually if the costs went beyond the reach of the user he will not use it and it will be a waste. I have seen several such projects going bust,” Chavan said.

Only days ago, Sharad Pawar had said that the Metro rail project in Pune should be underground so that the least inconvenience is caused to Puneites.

The next in the firing line was Pawar’s nephew and his own deputy, Ajit Pawar who is calling the shots in the Pune unit of the Nationalist Congress Party. “The Congress has never allied with communal forces at any level. Everyone knows about the Pune pattern and everyone knows about their commitment,” Chavan said. His target was clearly Ajit Pawar, who forced his party to enter into an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) so that he could retain power at the Pune Municipal Corporation.

Chavan didn’t restrict himself to his alliance partner and didn’t spare his own partyman and predecessor, Vilasrao Deshmukh, who has been rapped on his knuckles by the Bombay high court earlier this week for allotting 20 acres of land to Subhash Ghai’s film institute, Whistling Woods. All that Chavan was asked to do was clarify on his statement about the right to information (RTI) hampering governance. “I am not at all against the RTI Act. It was initiated at the behest of our party president, Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Several bureaucrats had warned us that it could be very difficult, but we stood by it. We wanted to bring in transparency in governance. We can no longer take a decision that won’t be in the public domain. It is because of the RTI that decisions taken 10-12 years ago are coming out of the closed files. I won’t comment on the high court decision yesterday, but it is a lesson for all of us,” Chavan said.

Much of the later discourse by Chavan was on his party’s city manifesto, where he tried to make the right noises about issues closer to Puneites’ hearts. He accepted that public transport was a big concern for the city and therefore wanted the Metro and water transport to be given highest priority.

“Rapid urbanisation is leading to decaying of cities and that has happened in Mumbai. We don’t want Pune’s quality of life to be affected. Commuting time to work defines how the city will be attracting workforce. Metro and water transport will help bring it down considerably,” Chavan said.

When it was pointed to him that the city rivers, where he plans to introduce water transport, don’t have water, he said his government was seized of the issue.

“We have sent a Rs819 crore plan for Pune rivers. It will work on not just Pune rivers, but the entire valley so that the quality of rivers will be improved. By the time it is executed, it will have increased to Rs2,000 crore,” he said.

Dumping grounds were on his radar next. Chavan said his party will bring in the latest technology that will ensure garbage was managed in a scientific manner.

“Abroad they are using garbage to generate power. Dumping grounds are designed in such a fashion that people living just 100 metres away are not bothered by stench,” he said.

Eventually, he echoed Sharad Pawar, who wanted undiluted power for the NCP.

“We rule Delhi, we rule Maharashtra... give power to the Congress in Pune is what we tell Punekars,” Chavan concluded.