In yet another disagreement within the three-party Mahayuti government, Shiv Sena’s Industries minister Uday Samant has expressed strong displeasure, alleging attempts to sideline him from the key decision-making process in the industries department, which he heads.
In a letter addressed to Industries Department Secretary Dr P Anbalagan and MIDC chief executive officer P Velrasu, Samant raised several concerns, emphasising that he should not be excluded from the department’s crucial decision-making process.
The letter written by Samant on February 4, surfaced in social media on Monday after a gap of a week. Through this letter, Samant has directed the two key officials to brief him on crucial files of the department. Besides, he has alleged that certain works of the infrastructure development, approved by the MIDC, were stopped and the minister has asked to resume those with the submission of files for his decision.
All said and done, the list of disagreements between the Shinde Sena ministers and the Mahayuti top bosses seems to be getting just longer. It began with the allocation of the district guardian ministerships of Nashik and Raigad, which has been on hold for over 20 days. In between, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said he was not aware of the fare hike of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses. Another jolt his party received when senior IAS Sanjay Sethi was appointed as the chairman of the MSRTC, the post normally goes to a political figure from the ruling party.
Last week, Eknath Shinde did not attend a crucial meeting chaired by CM Devendra Fadnavis. On Monday, he asked to postpone a meeting to be chaired by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar at Mantralaya to discuss the annual development plan for the Mumbai city district.
A report also came in on Monday that the Mukhya Mantri Teerth Yatra Yojana which provides financial assistance to the pilgrimage of senior citizens is not getting enough funds and it may wind up soon.
Before that, Shinde did not figure in the list of the members of the state disaster management authority headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Even as another Dy CM Ajit Pawar found a place in the authority, Shinde did not, fuelling talks of fissures within Mahayuti.
The disaster management authority, formed after the devastating Mumbai floods in 2005, plays a crucial role in coordinating emergency responses during the calamities.
Meanwhile, sources in Mantralaya say, Samant is keen on having a say in land allotment issues and wants to deal with issues that are handled at the bureaucratic levels, as per the rules.Is gap between Mahayuti partners growing further?
