Thackeray flays DF for going slow

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has accused the Congress-ncp-led government in Maharashtra for slowing down on the demolition drive and demand...

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has accused the Congress-ncp-led government in Maharashtra for slowing down on the demolition drive and demanded illegal slums built after 1995 be demolished at all costs.

In an interview published in party mouthpiece Saamna today, Thackeray said “there is no need for showing any sympathy to slum-dwellers who have built the slums after 1995”.

He criticised Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for asking the Maharashtra government to first rehabilitate the slum-dwellers and then demolish the slums. Thackeray said the ncp is unnecessarily taking a “U-turn” onthe issue.

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“Pawar has done nothing but put the ministers of his own party and his partner’s in a fix,” the Sena chief said and added: “Why should Mumbai rehabilitate people who have illegal houses?”

Thackeray said the situation was very bad as it was not possible to distinguish between the slums that have come up before and after 1995. The Sena leader said the government should demolish illegal slums irrespective of caste, creed or religion of the people staying in them.

He asked the state government to ensure that new slums don’t come up in the places that were vacated. He also said there was a lot of corruption in various ministeries and therefore many Bangladeshi migrants have procured ration cards. “It is difficult to identify who is legal and who is illegal,” he said. He asked the government not to pay attention to social worker Medha Patkar who was demanding that the government stop demolitions.