Claiming that the Metro line will push up real-estate prices in the party's influence area, which would deprive Marathi speakers of houses, Raj said this development will "destroy the Marathi manoos."
MNS chief Raj Thackeray has a new bugbear — the under-construction Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ metro line.
Raj, whose party has taken an aggressive stand on the issue of the influx of outsiders — especially those from northern states — into Mumbai, said the mass transit system, which passes through Maharashtrian-dominated areas like Girgaum, will increase housing rates and ensure Marathi speakers cannot buy houses there.
Lashing out at the Shiv Sena and BJP for allegedly using their turf battle to divert public attention from the shortcomings in the city's development, Raj cited MNS-ruled Nashik as a model of his vision for civic development. He, however, said that for this to be replicated in Mumbai, his party needed to be elected to power on its own strength.
Stating that the exodus from the MNS leadership, including that of former legislators, was due to "personal reasons," Raj said the cadre and voters were with him and attributed his party's defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls to the Narendra Modi wave.
Claiming that the Metro line will push up real-estate prices in the party's influence area, which would deprive Marathi speakers of houses, Raj said this development will "destroy the Marathi manoos."
"Then, why do we need the Metro? Whom will it make things easier for? For those who come from outside?" he asked.
"Why do we need an alternate mode of transport, and for whom, when we have the BEST buses and the Railways? You are creating facilities for outsiders coming to Mumbai," said Thackeray, adding that this migration to Mumbai will affect local residents.
"I am not somebody who will oppose development. But, the agenda behind this development is dangerous. If it does not help the Marathi manoos, then why should I consider this to be development?" he said.
Pointing to his overtures to estranged cousin and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray for the BMC polls, Raj said this was to prevent outsiders from gaining an upper hand over Maharashtrians.
Raj said he could develop Mumbai along the lines of Nashik, if the MNS got "complete power."
"Just electing (MNS) corporators will not help," said Thackeray, adding that the MNS had played the role of an opposition party well, with two of his corporators even going to jail after protesting against the poor state of city roads. He claimed that the Shiv Sena-ruled BMC had ensured that MNS corporators had been given lesser funds.
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