Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Modi launches projects, sounds poll bugle in Mumbai, Karnataka
Kicks off projects worth ₹38,000 crore ahead of BMC election, including two new Metro lines and CSMT revamp
Surendra P Gangan, Yogesh Naik and Arun Dev
MUMBAI/BENGALURU: For the uninterrupted growth and development of Mumbai, its civic body should be governed by the party that is in power both in Maharashtra and at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his three-hour visit to the financial capital on Thursday.
With the crucial civic polls around the corner, Modi launched development projects worth ₹38,000 crore, inaugurated two Metro rail lines and took a 7-minute ride in Metro-7 from the Gundavali station in Andheri.
Addressing a rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Modi said, “The development of a city is possible when there is government (in the state) committed for the development. The role of local bodies in the development of Mumbai is huge,” he said.
“There is no dearth of budget... but if the money is used for corruption, then how will the future of Mumbai be bright?” Modi said in a veiled attack on Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena that ruled the civic body.
MANY REASONS TO SMILE: PM Narendra Modi takes a ride in the new Mumbai Metro line flanked by chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday.
Elections to the Mumbai civic body are due since April 2022.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister was in Yadgir district in northern Karnataka, where the BJP is in direct contest with the Congress. Karnataka, the only southern state ruled by the BJP, is scheduled to go to the polls this summer.
This was his second visit to the state in seven days. He inaugurated various developmental projects related to irrigation, drinking water and highway development, worth nearly ₹10,000 crore.