Aaditya Thackeray Threatens “Bulldozer” Action and Promises to Arrest Corrupt BMC Officials

Aaditya Thackeray, a leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and a former minister for Maharashtra, demonstrated against suspected “corruption and illegal practices” at the BMC on Saturday in Mumbai. Former Shiv Sena mayors, corporators, and party members participated heavily in the rallies, which started near the Metro Cinema Junction in the Dhobitalaw neighborhood of South Mumbai.

The BMC commissioner was appointed administrator after the BMC house was disbanded more than a year ago.

Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, was blamed by Thackeray for a number of BMC frauds that occurred after Shinde established his administration with BJP backing.

Thackeray also criticized the present BMC administration for ignoring the demands of regular Mumbai residents. He said, “We have a track record of working tirelessly for the people for 25 years. We turned the BMC’s budget, including its reserves, from deficit to surplus in 1992. However, there have been no people’s representatives at the BMC for the previous 12 months. The BMC does not regard ordinary Mumbaikars, and its employees are not doing their duty to them. Instead, it seems that the BMC is extending a red carpet invitation to large contractors and builders.

He also questioned the government’s move to create a SIT to look into claims of corruption in the state civic body. But what about the businesses in Thane, Nasik, Nagpur, and Pune? He questioned, “Why hasn’t a SIT been established to look into anomalies in these firms throughout the same period?

Thackeray outlined what he considered to be the four frauds that occurred under Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis in his 35-minute address. Thackeray stated to the gathering how the present administration made sure that these contractors would gain more than 50% advantage above the contract cost, specifically criticizing Shinde for granting a road contract for Rs 6,080 crore to five contractors who are supposedly connected to him.

“They provided me with evasive responses when I first brought up this matter. Later on nevertheless, I revealed their scheme to give these contractors an advance of Rs 600 crore. At that point, this administration and its officials began to accuse me on a personal level. Never before in BMC’s history has the business paid a contractor in advance before the job was finished. Thackeray claimed that his team was alone responsible for putting an end to the alleged theft of BMC finances.

He also said that the state government fabricated a gravel scarcity in order to favor a single private firm whose owners are reputed to be connected to the ruling party. “With the aid of the revenue department, they made the tiny gravel-producing businesses cease production and sell their goods to only one corporation. They did this so that BMC’s ongoing infrastructure projects would be impacted.

He also discussed the suspected BMC street furniture fraud, in which the company bought 10,000 flowerpots and 40,000 street benches for the city.

Mihir Kotecha, a BJP lawmaker, brought up this concern and hinted in a letter that there could have been a fraud involved in the acquisition of these things. But he was told to go cautiously. I later asked the same questions about this matter as MLA Rais Shaikh, but we got totally different responses. This demonstrates how the BMC is operating without the oversight of the general public, according to Thackeray.

Thackeray also addressed the recent event in which the Bandra Municipal Corporation (BMC) destroyed the Shiv Sena Shakha (Unit office). “All of you have seen how hammers were used to break the photo frames of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Shiv Sena Supremo Balasaheb Thackeray during the demolition of the Shiv Sena UBT Office,” he remarked, holding CM Shinde accountable for the action. Let me warn them that when the state forms its government once again, we will employ bulldozers to destroy them. We won’t be kind to the BMC employees who are robbing Mumbai residents of their money.