Politics over bullet train picks up pace

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday threatened to stall construction of the MumbaiAhmedabad bullet train, unless the suburban rail network in Mumbai is upgraded.

He also blamed the influx of migrants into the city, saying such stampedes would occur again as cities are gasping for breath in the absence of infrastructure.

Addressing a press conference a day after 23 people died in a stampede on a footover bridge at Elphinstone Road station, Thackeray also announced a protest march against railway administration at the Western Railway’s headquarters on October 5.

“I will not allow even a brick of the bullet train project to be laid. First resolve all the problems of Mumbai commuters. Government should first understand the needs of city. If Modi wants the bullet train, let him construct it within Gujarat,” he said.

He also warned the government against using force and said: “If the government tries to push it through force, we too will not hesitate to use the same.”

The BJP-led state government however said its was determined to complete the bullet train project. “Everybody has the right to protest in a democratic way. Raj Thackeray too is free to stage protest but the construction of the bullet train will not halt at any cost,” state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil said.

Thackeray also launched a personal attack on the Prime Minister. “I have not seen a liar such as our PM in my entire life. His government has come to power by lying to people. ..,” he said.

Friday’s mishap was an incident waiting to happen as the railway administration has not done anything to maintain and upgrade infrastructure at railway stations, the MNS chief said in the conference at his residence.

Thackeray , who has in the past stoked controversies with his anti-migrant rhetoric, also went on to blame the large influx of migrants for the tragedy. “The cities are not in condition to take the influx of migrants. They are gasping for breath in absence of the basic infrastructure as the government authorities keep blaming each other...”

The MNS president claimed that Suresh Prabhu was replaced by Piyush Goyal just for the bullet train. “This Goyal is useless, Prabhu was doing a good job. It is not known why he was removed.”

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