Ahead of the special cabinet meeting occasioned by the Marathwada Liberation Day celebrations, the Eknath Shinde-led government on Saturday was called out by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, particularly the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) faction on Friday, as they criticised the ruling coalition for failing to implement past promises for the Marathwada region.
The MVA parties – the Sena (UBT), the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – also ticked-off the Shinde government for the lavish expenditure on the special cabinet meet which is to be held in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad.
As per sources, developmental packages to the tune of ₹40,000 crore are to be announced at the cabinet meeting to take place in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. This will be the first time a cabinet meet is taking place in the region after a period of seven years.
Mr. Shinde, along with Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis are expected to reach Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar tonight, where plush hotels have been requisitioned to accommodate Ministers, bureaucrats and their retinue.
The Opposition MVA called out the exorbitant expenditure on five-star hotels and food arrangements, with Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve questioning the need for Ministers and bureaucrats putting up in posh hotels when government guest houses were available.
“What is the need to spend ₹1,500 per plate. I know that the caterer, to whom the contract has been given, is under the scanner of the central agencies. Here, people cannot eat two square meals a day and this government is spending so lavishly for holding a cabinet meeting. There are guest houses in perfectly serviceable condition. Why can’t bureaucrats and ministers be put up there,” said Mr. Danve, who is Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra’s Upper House.
He said the lavish arrangements stood in stark contrast to CM Shinde’s claims of his government being for the service of the common man.
Mr. Danve demanded to know what happened of the ₹50,000 crore package for Marathwada announced by Mr. Fadnavis in 2016, when he was CM of the State.
Mr. Danve’s party colleague, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the arrangements smacked of the government’s “five-star culture”.
Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who began his two-day tour of the Marathwada region, said while the Shinde government would make many announcements for the Marathwada region, they would not be implemented.
“The government is spending so much for this cabinet meeting. It should also tell where funds were spent in Gujarat, Guwahati (in Assam) and Goa,” said Mr. Thackeray, alluding to the places where Mr. Shinde and his supporters went after splitting the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena last year.
The special cabinet meeting has been planned on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Marathwada freedom struggle to discuss issues pertaining to the region.
Marathwada was liberated from the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad by Indian forces on September 17, 1948. The region comprises the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nanded, Latur, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Osmanabad and Hingoli districts.
