BJP, Shiv Sena spar over credit for Metro and Shahad bridge in Ulhasnagar

The tussle over credit for the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan Metro Line 5 project has now reached the Shahad bridge in Ulhasnagar.

Former Union Minister of State Kapil Patil had said that the credit for Metro Line 5 belongs solely to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He said he would certainly take credit for being the first to raise the demand, but it was not his habit to lie and claim credit for work he had not done. He did not name anyone, but the remark was aimed at local MP Dr Shrikant Shinde and Bhiwandi BJP MLA Mahesh Chaughule.

Now, after the Metro, charges and counter-charges have begun over the Shahad bridge in Ulhasnagar as well. MLA Kumar Ailani has claimed that it was the BJP that pursued the Rs 350 crore proposed Shahad bridge and got the work done. The Shiv Sena says the work is happening only because of the efforts of MP Shrikant Shinde. At a Dhanteras event, leaders of both parties targeted each other.

Ailani showed a video of a speech by Chief Minister Fadnavis in which he had promised, before a packed gathering, to give the people of Ulhasnagar a Metro. The Shiv Sena responded that development work does not happen merely by showing papers; it requires persistent follow-up.

Shiv Sena leader Kamlesh Nikam, targeting the BJP MLAs, said the BJP should take credit for its own work and not for work done by others. Ailani alleged that a particular faction is the reason for the dispute between the BJP and the Shiv Sena in Ulhasnagar.

On Dhanteras, the Shiv Sena launched the "Shrimati Jyoti Kalani Ladli Vidyarthini Yojana". At the same event, the charges and counter-charges over credit for the Metro and the Shahad bridge flared up like firecrackers.