Uddhav Thackeray begins abhiyan, launches attack on BJP

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray started his Vidarbha Shiv Sampark Abhiyan from Akola on Monday. On the day one of his tour, Mr Thackeray slammed the BJP-led government over farmers’ issues.

Mr Thackeray also said that his party workers would expose the ‘water thieves’ who are misusing the Jalyukta Shivar scheme.

“If corruption has taken place in Jalyukta Shivar, then what’s the difference between irrigation scam and this one?” asked Mr Thackeray. He also announced that a big farmers’ rally would be held on May 19 for declaring new schemes.

Mr Thackeray has undertaken the tour to build his organisation in Vidarbha. He started his campaign from Akola. The reports of corruption in Jalyukta Shivar project are doing round for sometime in the state.

Mr Thackeray raised the issue on the first day of the tour in Vidarbha. “Shiv Sena will not allow water thieves to get away. We will expose them. These reports of wrongdoing in Jalyukta Shivar are serious. If they are true then there
is no there is no difference between this and irrigation scam,” said Mr Thackeray.

The irrigation scam during the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) tenure dented both the parties’ electoral prospects in 2014. The BJP had raked up the irrigation scam issue during the 2014 Assembly elections to attack Congress and the NCP.

The NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare are facing anti-corruption bureau investigation in the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam.

Jalyukta Shivar is chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ pet project, and the state government is pushing it. With Mr Thackeray’s raising doubts over the scheme, another ugly war of words between the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena could be on the cards.