Raj Thackeray's "Focus" Jibe At State Government Over Mumbai Train Accident
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, Raj Thackeray condoled the loss of life in the Mumbra train accident in Thane, in which atleast 4 people have died, and criticised the Mahayuti-led state government of only focusing on elections instead of real issues of the people.
"The train accident that happened in Mumbai today is unfortunate. Many passengers died in this accident, but similar incidents are happening in Mumbai every day. Passengers are getting injured in Mumbai every day and yet no one is doing anything to help," the MNS chief said during a press conference on Monday.
"Our entire focus is only on the elections and campaigning. Will Raj Thackeray-Uddhav Thackeray form an alliance? More important than this question are how travel is going in Mumbai today, how people are living in the cities and in the state as a whole," he added.
He further slammed the current and previous state governments for not pushing for Mumbai local trains to have a separate governing corporation for it.
"The demand for a separate corporation for Mumbai Railways has been going on for many years. We had also made this demand, but till date no government has paid any attention to this demand. Today, the planning of cities has completely collapsed. Huge crowds are coming. Big roads, bridges, metros are being built for them. Tall buildings are being allowed, but there is no planning for parking," he said.
Criticising poor city planning, he added, "Every city has a serious traffic problem. Building new roads and metros is not making any difference, yet no government is thinking about city planning or the influx of people from outside."
Saying that he is shocked with the crowd at railway stations, he questioned the political leaders, including MPs, MLAs and ministers who go abroad, and whether they learn from their trips regarding public transport.
"I myself have travelled by train in Mumbai for a long time. But the situation was a little better then. Now, seeing the crowd at the railway station, I am shocked. These MPs, MLAs, ministers go abroad - do they learn anything from there? If such an incident had happened abroad, how would it have been handled there? We have none. Here, human life has no value," he said.
Earlier on Monday , Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray took a jibe at Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, accusing them of being responsible for the deaths.
"Rail mantri has become a reel mantri. There have been multiple terrible train accidents in the last 2-3 years but no one is coming forward to claim any responsibility. This is solely the responsibility of the railway department and the railway minister... People of India have demanded his resignation multiple times but he carries on."
Multiple passengers travelling towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) fell from a excessive crowded train at Mumbra railway station in Thane district on Monday. The accident occurred on the Down/Fast Line and disrupted local train services, with the reason suspected to be due to excessive crowd on the train.
The two estranged cousins, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray have been in talks for a potential alliance ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are to be announced by the Election Commission.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
"Lot of poison in BJP's mind for Maharashtra": Aaditya Thackeray
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for comparing the Pahalgam terror attack to incidents of violence in Maharashtra amid the ongoing language controversy, and said that the ruling party holds 'a lot of poison' in its mind towards the state. He further questioned the ruling BJP in the centre over the delay in arresting the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack. 'There is a lot of poison in the BJP's mind when it comes to Maharashtra. Today, the BJP has compared Maharashtra to the terrorists in the Pahalgam incident - the terrorists whom the BJP could not catch or stop. It has been three months since the Pahalgam incident, but where did those terrorists go? Nobody knows if they fled to Pakistan or joined the BJP. But comparing them to Maharashtra shows the malice and poison that the BJP has for the state,' Thackeray told reporters here. Amid the political sparring over Hindi imposition charge by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar on Sunday compared the agony of the Pahalgam terror attack, where Hindus were killed in the name of religion, and those getting 'beaten up' in the name of language. He said that these incidents were distressing for him. 'All these incidents cause pain, suffering, and mental distress. In Pahalgam, they shot them after asking about their religion. And here, they beat up the innocent Hindus just because of the language they speak. Such cases create a disturbance,' Shelar said. His remarks come after some incidents of violence and vandalism were reported in the state amid the ongoing Hindi-Marathi controversy. Five workers of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) were arrested in connection with the vandalism at entrepreneur Sushil Kedia's office in Worli, police said on Saturday. A case has been registered against them under Sections 223, 189(2), 189(3), 190, 191(2), 191(3), and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Kedia, who found himself in the middle of the language row in Maharashtra over his recent remarks against MNS and its chief Raj Thackeray, stated that he made these comments in haste and has now realised his mistake. In another incident, as per a viral video, a group of men allegedly associated with a regional party beat up a shop owner for not speaking in Marathi. The incident occurred in the Mira-Bhayandar area near Mumbai. On Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis warned of strict legal action against those engaging in 'hooliganism' in the name of Marathi. He said that the Mahayuti government will not tolerate violence against commoners. Although the Maharashtra government withdrew its April 16 orders on the implementation of the three-language policy that made Hindi a 'mandatory' third language for school students in Classes 1 to 5 studying in English and Marathi medium schools, the political controversy over the same has brought together long-time estranged Thackeray cousins after nearly two decades. Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday shared the stage together at the Worli Dome in Mumbai as they held a joint rally in protest against the 'Hindi imposition'. (ANI)
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Officials to tour BJP-ruled MP to study Indore sanitation model
T'puram: Even as the state govt faces mounting criticism over its handling of waste management, including the toxic smoke crisis from the Brahmapuram fire in Kochi in 2023, a team of senior officials is heading to BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh to study the acclaimed sanitation model of Indore municipal corporation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The move comes months ahead of the local body elections, where the govt's performance on civic issues is expected to be a major campaign theme. A delegation led by local self govt special secretary T V Anupama will visit Indore from July 8 to 10 to study the city's solid waste management practices and sanitation systems. The visit is based on the city's consistent record as the country's cleanest under the Swachh Survekshan rankings. A govt order approving the visit was issued on July 2. This is not the first time that a CPM-led govt in Kerala is turning to BJP-governed states for insights into administrative systems. In 2022, a team led by then chief secretary V P Joy visited Gujarat from April 27 to 29 to study its real-time e-governance dashboard and described the Gujarat model as "remarkable". The latest visit, also coinciding with the chief minister's current trip to the US for follow-up treatment, has once again brought focus to the LDF govt's approach of borrowing governance models from states it has traditionally criticised. It has also reignited political discussions on the CPM's shifting stance on engaging with BJP-ruled states. Back in 2013, the party took a sharp position against even symbolic engagements with BJP leaders. When then labour minister Shibu Baby John met the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad to discuss labour sector practices, CPM demanded that chief minister Oommen Chandy clarify the govt's position. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Pinarayi Vijayan, then CPM state secretary, was vocal in stating that there was "nothing in Gujarat's labour sector Kerala needs to learn. " The party even demanded Shibu's resignation. In contrast, the current official visit to Indore is being undertaken without much political commentary from the CPM, though it comes at a time when the state's own waste management record has been severely criticised. The Brahmapuram fire incident in 2023, which choked Kochi with toxic smoke for days, prompted widespread public outrage and legal scrutiny, exposing serious flaws in Kerala's waste handling infrastructure. "With the local body polls nearing, civic issues like garbage management, sanitation and public health are expected to dominate public discourse. The Indore visit, while aimed at adopting best practices, may also be viewed through the lens of political messaging and damage control," a senior official in the department said on conditions of anonymity. While officials maintain that there is no contradiction in studying successful models regardless of which party governs a state, political observers say such visits inevitably draw attention when past statements and current actions appear misaligned. The key question, however, remains whether these study tours will translate into meaningful reforms on the ground or remain symbolic gestures without follow-through, as happened with the 2022 Gujarat tour.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Actor-BJP neta dares: ‘I don't speak Marathi. Throw me out'
Mumbai: Looking to turn the tables on the Thackeray cousins, has raised the issue of Marathi vs north Indians and Gujaratis as it seeks to consolidate its voters among non-Marathi communities. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On Saturday, former BJP MP from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and Bhojpuri actor , also known as Nirahua, waded into the language controversy, saying no one should indulge in such dirty politics. "The beauty of India is its unity in diversity. No one should do such dirty politics. I am a politician and an actor. Politics must be for the good of people. Mein Marathi nahin bolta. Kisi mein dum hai toh mujhe se nikaal ke dikhaaye (I do not speak Marathi. I challenge them to throw me out of Maharashtra)," said Yadav. Earlier, share market investment analyst Sushil Kedia had also challenged MNS, which is spearheading the agitation against the introduction of Hindi as a third language in schools, saying neither does he know Marathi nor will he speak it. After his office was vandalised on Satuday, he apologised. The Thackeray cousins joined political forces over the "imposition" of Hindi in schools and scored a victory over BJP when CM Devendra Fadnavis withdrew two govt resolutions that allowed Hindi to be taught in school from Class 1 as a third language. With local body elections likely to be held later this year, BJP, which is keen to win the BMC elections, has been quick to work to consolidate the north Indian voters who have not forgotten the thrashing that many from their community in Mumbai were subjected to at the hands of MNS several years ago. Fadnavis, while saying they were proud of Marathi, came down heavily on those opposing Hindi, which he said is also an Indian language. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Mumbai metropolitan region, which has 11 municipal corporations, has a significant Hindi-speaking north Indian population from UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. There is a strong and influential Gujarati population in Mumbai and Thane. Meanwhile, in Solapur, BJP minister Girish Mahajan said many MLAs and MPs from Sena (UBT) are in touch with him and they do not trust Thackeray's leadership. "The results of the upcoming zilla parishad, panchayat samiti, and municipal elections will show how much public trust each leader holds," he said. (With inputs from agencies)
