Mumbai, Jan 12: With the elections to the BMC just a day away, all eyes are on who will rule the country’s richest civic body with an annual budget of Rs 75,000 crore.
While the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are fighting an existential battle, the BJP has gone all guns blazing in a bid to install its mayor. In this context, city BJP president and MLA Ameet Satam (49) visited FPJ’s studio for a frank dialogue. Excerpts:
Q. You have travelled to every constituency in Mumbai. What is the situation on the ground?
A: There is a strong sentiment among the people, particularly among youngsters, that the city has witnessed a decisive transformation over the last 11 years. People have seen an infrastructural boost with projects like Atal Setu, Metro lines, the Coastal Road, CCTV surveillance, the Worli BDD chawl redevelopment, etc. They have also silently witnessed 25 years of misrule in the BMC by the Shiv Sena (UBT). They compare the development and security with the Rs 3 lakh crore corruption in the BMC over the last 25 years. Thus, Mumbaikars have made up their mind to rest their faith in the BJP–Shiv Sena (Shinde)–RPI (Athawale) Mahayuti.
Q. What are your top three promises for Mumbai?
A: No city can develop if there is no sense of security among the public. Our agenda is enhanced security, speedy development and corruption-free governance.
Q. You talk about development, but the BJP under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s governance started the ‘India Shining’ campaign, which did not yield political dividends. Do you think only the development agenda is enough to win votes?
People today do not have a very good perception of the BMC. Today, the BMC means corruption, potholes, garbage and inefficiency. Hence, Mumbaikars are putting their hopes on us to improve the image and credibility of the BMC.
Q. Sena (UBT)–MNS leaders claim that the Marathi manoos in Mumbai is under threat and this could be the last election for them if they don't come together and vote for their parties. What is your take on this?
A: The reality is that their family business is under threat. It was the BJP-led government that provided classical language status to the Marathi language, which was a long-standing demand from Maharashtra. The first step to stop the Marathi manoos from migrating to the metropolitan region is redevelopment projects like Worli BDD chawl, Abhyuday Nagar, etc. Already, 1,000 Marathi families have got their homes, and 14,000 homes are under construction. The colonies like BDD, MHADA, etc., which are undergoing redevelopment, have an all-Marathi population and all of them will get new homes in Mumbai.
Q. Raj Thackeray, in his recent speech, revived the old controversy of ‘Hatao Lungi Bajao Pungi’—a deeply anti-South Indian sentiment.
A: He is trying to create a divide in society for political gains. He is, in fact, spoiling the name of the Marathi manoos, who are large-hearted people and accept and love every person who comes to Mumbai from any part of the country, speaking any language. Anyone who comes to Mumbai and speaks Marathi, the Marathi manoos embraces them, takes them under their umbrella and moves forward. Thackeray should avoid such violent statements.
Q. Do you think Raj and Uddhav Thackeray’s parties will pay a heavy price because so many North Indians have been beaten up for not being able to speak Marathi? Will the North Indians support the BJP–Shiv Sena?
All votes of nationalist Mumbaikars—be it Marathi, be it North Indian, be it from any state and any language—will vote for us. Except for jihadi, Islamic fundamentalist, radical, anti-social, anti-national elements, the entire city will vote for us. We are not against any state or any religion. While launching schemes like Ladki Bahin, we did not see if the beneficiary is Hindu, Muslim or Christian.
Q. It is alleged that lakhs of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have entered Mumbai illegally and they can pose a serious threat to law and order. What will the BJP do to evict these people?
A: There is a systematic plan under which these persons encroach on public land, build illegal houses and use political connections to get Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards, etc. We have seen this pattern in areas like Mankhurd, Govandi and Malwani. This planned design is part of an international conspiracy to change the demography of certain international cities. As a government, in the last two years, we have taken strict measures and combing operations to deport illegal immigrants. We have been successful in deporting more than 1,000 of them, and this entire operation has been taken up on a war footing by the police. In the future, we are also going to use AI platforms and digitised processes to identify, evict and deport them.
Q. If the Shinde Sena gets more corporators than you, will the mayor be from Shinde's party?
A: It really doesn't matter which party the mayor will be from. The next mayor of Mumbai will be from the Mahayuti, a Mumbaikar and a Marathi.
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Q. The BJP used to accuse the Congress of dynastic politics, but in a constituency like Colaba, Speaker Rahul Narwekar's family has as many as three BJP candidates.
A: Makarand and Harshita Narwekar joined the BJP in 2016 and won the Colaba–Cuffe Parade wards in 2017, which was before Rahul Narwekar joined our party. The third candidate, Gauri Shivalkar, is a dentist by profession and Narwekar’s relative. But she is not contesting as a Narwekar family member, but as a professional who has worked on the ground, after demand by the local BJP karyakartas.
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