Mumbai: A special session of Parliament is being held with the intention to divide the country, MPCC Chief Nana Patole has stated while criticising the Modi government for attempting to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra.
"The Modi government has called a special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22 but hasn't disclosed the agenda. Moreover, the session was called without consulting anyone, including the opposition and even the Parliamentary Business Advisory Committee. Hence, it is clear that the session has been called to divide the country, and the Modi government's plan is to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra and make it a Union Territory," said Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole during an interaction with the media here on Monday.
Patole: Why were no special session called for Manipur or Covid?
He pointed out that no special session was called during the Covid crisis, after demonetisation, or to address the Manipur issue, "but now a special session has been called by the arrogant and arbitrary BJP government," Patole said.
"Mumbai is a city of international stature, the financial capital of the country, the pride of Maharashtra, and the country. But the BJP cannot see this, and the Modi government's plan is to shift all the power centers from Mumbai to Gujarat. Steps to reduce the importance of Mumbai have been taken many times in the last 9 years. The International Financial Center was moved to Gujarat, the large-scale diamond trade in Mumbai was moved to Gujarat, and Air India's headquarters was relocated out of Mumbai. Now there is a plan to shift the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) to Gujarat," Patole added.
"The MVA government was an obstacle to the BJP government's plan to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, and therefore, with the help of the central government and the Governor, the MVA government was dislodged," Patole said. He added that ever since the Shinde-led government has been in power, all major projects from Mumbai and Maharashtra have been shifted to Gujarat.
"Neither Chief Minister Eknath Shinde nor Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dared to oppose this. If Shinde-Fadnavis and Pawar have the courage, they should question Narendra Modi for taking important offices and projects out of Mumbai," Patole challenged the duo.
