Maharashtra ahead of Gujarat: R R Patil

NASHIK: While the BJP has been projecting Gujarat's development model under the leadership of Narendra Modi, Maharashtra is "much ahead of Gujarat" in terms of development, state home minister R R Patil said at a rally at the Jail Road area of the city on Sunday.
Patil was campaigning in support of PWD minister and district guardian minister Chhagan Bhujbal. "Narendra Modi is creating a false picture of Gujarat's development, but Maharashtra is way ahead of Gujarat in terms of development.The Human Development Index value (HDI) of Gujarat is 0.527, while it is 0.572 per cent in Maharashtra. Gujarat's literacy rate is 79, while this is 83 per cent in Maharashtra. The per capita income of Gujarat is Rs 89,000, while it is Rs 1.07 lakh in Maharashtra. Foreign investment in Gujarat was Rs 56,000 crore, while it was Rs 2.46 lakh crore in Maharashtra," Patil said.
Stating that Gujarat was "ahead in terms of riots only", Patil said that the minority communities were "targets" during the Gujarat riots. "We also love Gujarat, but we want the Gujarat of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Lok Sabha elections are important as this will decide whether to the country will be run with the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi or Nathuram Godse," Patil said.
Patil was critical of the Shiv Sena as well and questioned Uddhav Thackeray's leadership. "The party lacks strong leadership and that is why its activists have been scattered, despite the binding of Shivbandhan strings. No one can stop the exodus from the Shiv Sena, even though Shiv Sainiks are apparently bound with iron chains," Patil said.
Patil came down heavily on MNS chief Raj Thackeray for "doing nothing" in the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) in the past two-and-a-half years, he said, "The people of Nashik had voted the MNS to power with a strong trust, but the party could not carry out any development there. Where is their blueprint of development? Raj has publicity technique, but his TRP has now gone down."
Commenting on Thackeray's agitation on the toll issue, Patil said, "The Shiv Sena had supported toll during the construction of the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Are toll plazas in BJP-ruled states like MP, Rajasthan and Gujarat being stopped? The Maharashtra state government has already taken a policy decision of closing tolls on road projects that are low-cost. Actually, Matoshree and Krishnakunja, the residences of the Shiv Sena and MNS, respectively, are the bigger toll plazas in the state. The tolls in the state will automatically close down if these two tolls are closed first."
Taking a dig at Shiv Sena candidate Hemant Godse, Patil said, "We need leaders like Bhujbal in the Lok Sabha. Even Sharad Pawar has declared Bhujbal as his successor in the parliament. Bhujbal will be a heavyweight MP if he is elected. He will not only develop Nashik, but also the state if he goes to the Lok Sabha."