Mumbai, July 9 (IANS) Opposition parties, including Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress, on Thursday strongly criticised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his remarks describing critics of the Mumbai-Pune Missing Link project as “rental ponies” and “liars” during his reply in the Assembly on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister made the comments while defending the project after a landslide triggered by heavy rains disrupted traffic for several hours earlier this week.

The opposition parties, including Shiv Sena(UBT) and Congress, on Thursday strongly criticised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his “Rental Ponies’ and ‘Liars’ remarks during his reply in the state assembly on Wednesday while justifying the construction of the Mumbai-Pune Missing Link after Monday’s landslide disrupting traffic for a few hours.

Shiv Sena UBT legislator Bhaskar Jadhav said, “You were the Leader of the Opposition once; how many allegations did you make back then? What about the allegations you leveled against Uddhav Thackeray during the Covid pandemic? Ashish Shelar would hold a press conference in the morning, Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar at 11 a.m., Chandrakant Patil at 2 p.m., and you would hold one yourself at 4 p.m. Were your reckless allegations acceptable back then? You alone do not define Maharashtra!”

The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshvardhan Sapkal claimed that the Chief Minister’s allegations are like the thief turning around to blame the police. “Who was it that said, ‘I won’t marry until a separate Vidarbha is formed’? Just yesterday, the CM announced a cloudburst would happen in Nashik, but it didn’t rain at all. The public knows exactly who is telling the truth and who is lying. If those asking questions are ‘rental ponies’, then those delivering sub-standard work should be called ‘commission men’ (takkewari purush),” he alleged.

The Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad said that when questions arise within just two months about flaws in a project worth thousands of crores, the citizens demanding accountability cannot be branded as anti-Maharashtra.

“It is the contractors’ corruption and sub-standard work that brings disrepute to the state, not the people asking questions. Calling critics ‘rental/hired people’ does not befit the dignity of the leader’s post,” she commented.

Further, the Shiv Sena (UBT) deputy leader Sushma Andhare launched a scathing attack on CM Fadnavis over his choice of words in the House. Writing an open letter to him, Andhare leveled serious allegations, stating, “By calling the opposition and citizens who ask questions ‘dogs’ (kutte) and ‘rental ponies’ (bhade ke tattu) inside the House, you have insulted Maharashtra itself.”

In her letter, Andhare offered satirical advice to CM Fadnavis, stating that the public expected him to address burning issues like law and order, paper leaks, women’s safety, and the plight of students and government employees protesting in the heavy rains. Instead, she alleged, he chose to focus his entire speech on defending the Missing Link project while making deeply personal attacks on opposition leaders.

Highlighting that a staggering Rs 7,120 crore of public taxpayer money has been spent on the Missing Link project, Andhare asserted that citizens are well within their democratic rights to question any flaws or loopholes in the infrastructure. “Taking credit for a project but refusing to accept responsibility for its defects is unacceptable,” she remarked.

Reminding CM Fadnavis of his own statement from 2022 when he was the Leader of the Opposition– where he had famously told the ruling side, “You do not define Maharashtra” — Andhare questioned, “Does the same rule not apply to you today?”

In her letter, Andhare listed a series of incidents, including the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue, paper leak scams, women’s safety issues, drug busts, major industrial projects shifting out of the state, and problems faced by the local Marathi population, alongside unruly incidents in the legislature.

“These are the actual instances that bring disrepute to Maharashtra. The government stays absolutely silent on these matters, but the moment questions are raised, you try to hide behind the name of Maharashtra,” she criticised.

Accusing CM Fadnavis of being unable to tolerate criticism, Andhare noted, “A mindset that wants to eliminate the opposition, opposing views, and criticism inside the House is highly dangerous for democracy.”

She concluded her attack by saying, “Today you have insulted Maharashtra on the floor of the House; your own conscience will admit this when you stand alone in front of a mirror.”

The controversy erupted after heavy rains triggered a landslide at the Missing Link project, an initiative touted as an “engineering marvel.” A video of the landslide went viral on social media, prompting intense scrutiny from netizens and opposition leaders alike.

Responding aggressively to the criticism in the Assembly, CM Fadnavis on Wednesday stated, “Abuse Devendra Fadnavis as much as you want; I have become ‘abuse-proof’ now. But do not malign your own state and sling mud on its best projects. These people must have been born after a crore of liars died, as they do not feel a shred of shame while lying.”

Targeting funded online campaigns, CM Fadnavis added, “People whom even a street dog wouldn’t notice are coming onto social media to hurl abuses. We will not spare these ‘rental ponies’ (bhade ke tattu) who write stuff for money.”

He further expressed confidence that the project would ultimately carry the names of Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde in the future.

Defending the administration’s performance amid the Mumbai rains and the expressway issues, CM Fadnavis resorted to Urdu poetry to dismiss the opposition’s onslaught, “Girte hain shahsawar hi maidan-e-jang mein, wo tifl kya gire jo ghutno ke bal chale…” (Only those who ride horses fall in the battlefield; how can a toddler fall who crawls on their knees…)

“We made the decision and consulted the officials. They assured us that it was possible, that we could achieve it, and we have successfully delivered it,” CM Fadnavis stated, completely rejecting the opposition’s allegations.

–IANS

sj/skp