In what could be a fresh hurdle for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday appealed the farmers in Maharashtra not to give up their land for the project.
Speaking at a rally at Vasai, Thackeray clearly appealed that people need not sell their land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train or even for the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway.
He said that this could very well be a ploy to purchase land in the name of bullet train and evict Marathi people from Mumbai (and surrounding area).
Thackeray said, referring to the creation of the separate states of Maharashtra and Gujarat on 1 May, 1960.
He also appealed the Marathis to unite and set aside their own differences.
Thackeray also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the claim of achieving 100 percent rural electrification.
Criticizing Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he said that CM mostly does not take decisions on his own and acts as a stooge of Modi and (BJP chief) Amit Shah.
