Mumbai, February 10: The Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance today played its regional card and turned the heat on the centre for giving the states a raw deal and thwarting the country's federal spirit. The 20-point joint manifesto, which was announced today, refrained from blasting parties at the helm of affairs. Instead, it stressed on strengthening the federal structure in favour of regional forces. Prakash Jawdekar and Subhash Desai, respective spokespersons for the BJP and Sena, blamed the centre for their unfinished projects, which were yet to be cleared by the centre. However, the manifesto skirted the vexed issue of separate statehood for Vidarbha, as both the parties have antithetical stands on the issue. While the BJP supports separate statehood, Sena chief Bal Thackeray is opposed to dividing the state.The manifesto demanded that the state be given 33 per cent of the total tax collected by the centre, instead of the present 29 per cent. The manifesto pointed out that under VDIS , themaximum amount of tax was collected from Maharashtra. Desai added that the centre considered Mumbai as a money-wielding machine. ``But when it comes to allocating money for the city's development, the centre hesitates,'' he said, adding that the state government would also raise the issue of royalty for the Bombay High gas field.The manifesto accused the centre of gross negligence of the state's development and lambasted it for delaying a solution to the border issue between Karnataka and Maharashtra. It also promised the extradition of underworld dons holed up in other countries if voted to power. The manifesto claimed that the alliance government had succeeded in stopping gangwars in the state, but the centre had taken no steps towards extradition of those who fuel the gangwars. The manifesto promised immediate assistance regarding its much-hyped drive of deporting illegal migrants and the issue of rehabilitating slum-dwellers settled on railway property and airport land. Other promises included a newdeep sea fishing policy, environmental clearance for the Mumbai-Pune freeway, clearance for water transport at Worli, Bandra and Nariman Point, a separate railway corporation for Mumbai and increase in scholarships to backward caste students. The alliance has also promised the inclusion of more backward castes in the list of scheduled castes, as some of the castes recognised as backward by the state were not scheduled at the centre. A separate board for the Konkan region was also stressed in the manifesto.
