Erstwhile allies, the BJP and the Shiv Sena, had a major sparring Session in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday even as other Opposition members too resorted to repeated disruptions over the Centre’s farm laws leading to the adjournment of the House for the day .
The BJP and Shiv Sena accused each other of non-cooperation over important infrastructure initiatives like the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train and Mumbai Metro project in Maharashtra and not telling the truth.
But then, amidst the slogan shouting, the house passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2021, to regularise unauthorised colonies in Delhi. While the Rajya Sabha had passed the Bill on February 9, it sailed through the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri told the Lok Sabha that the Bill would give protection to unauthorised colonies from sealing till December 31, 2023.
There are around 1,700 unauthorised colonies in Delhi.
As for the BJP-Shiv Sena duel, while Railway Minister Piyush Goyal charged the Uddhav Thackeray-led Mahavikas Aghadi Government of stalling the bullet train project, the Shiv Sena accused the Centre of not cooperating with the State dispensation over the Metro car shed project.
Goyal said it was because of the “ego” of the State Government that the Metro car shed issue still remains unsolved.
After the formation of the MVA Government, the Shiv Sena changed the Metro car shed site from Aarey to Kanjur. The Kanjur land belongs to the Centre.
It all began during Question Hour when Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav asked whether there are any plans to run a bullet train between Mumbai and Nagpur. Responding to this, Goyal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly desires that the country has an advanced technology, railways run faster and people get world class facilities. For the same purpose, work on a high-speed railway line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was being undertaken.
“Decisions were taken swiftly and work also started on it rapidly. World's best technology was brought to India. But I am pained that since the new Government formed in Maharashtra, there is a sort of full-stop to the work,” Goyal said.
He said the land acquisition started at a fast pace and 95 per cent land of land under the jurisdiction of Gujarat has been acquired. Land from the Dadra Nagar Haveli too has been acquired.
But there is hardly any progress on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train after the new Government came to power in the state in 2019. He said only 24 per cent of land required for the work under the jurisdiction of Maharashtra has been acquired.
“The work on high-speed railway is not progressing in Maharashtra. The work in Gujarat is moving at fast pace but it has stopped in Maharashtra,” he said.
Replying to a question on the same issue by Manoj Kotak, BJP MP from Northeast Mumbai, Goyal said even the land from where the bullet train is to start from Mumbai has not been handed over to Centre.
“In such a case how can there be a railway between Mumbai and Nagpur. It's beyond my understanding,” Goyal said.
To this, Arvind Sawant, another Shiv Sena member and a former Cabinet minister till he resigned after his party parted ways with the BJP to join hands with Congress and NCP to form the MVA Government, accused Goyal of not telling the truth. “We always speak truth. The job to lie is of leaders for the post of chief minister,” Goyal said alluding to Thackeray.
Hitting back, Jadhav said the reason why people of Maharashtra oppose the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is because they feel “this is a ploy” to shift all big businesses to Gujarat.