Zee Media Bureau
Nagpur: Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday that it would have been better if Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had attended the inauguration of the 30-kilometre Metro rail project for Nagpur with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Naidu reportedly said that he was “missing Prithviraj Chavan” and felt that it would have been better if Maharashtra CM had attended the event today in Nagpur. He also said that politics should be kept aside and all must work as team India, as per reports.
Chavan was missing from both the events today of which PM Modi was part of – inauguration of the NTPC`s thermal power station at Mouda and Metro rail project for Nagpur.
Taking an aggressive stand on the incidents of heckling at functions attended by Modi in Congress-ruled states, Chavan had said yesterday that would not attend today`s function in Nagpur.
At a function in Solapur on Saturday, where PM had inaugurated four-laned National Highway Number 9, Chavan had to stop speaking midway as alleged BJP supporters started chanting Modi`s name.
"What happened at Solapur was unfortunate," Chavan had told reporters after the state cabinet meeting yesterday, PTI reported.
He had then gone on to say that he had taken the decision to skip the function in Nagpur.
Chavan had also tweeted about the same today.
I will not be sharing the dais with the Hon'ble PM at today's Metro Rail bhoomipujan (1/2)
— Prithviraj Chavan (@prithvrj) August 21, 2014
I have already thanked the Central Govt for sanctioning the #NagpurMetro giving Viability Gap Funding (2/2)
— Prithviraj Chavan (@prithvrj) August 21, 2014
And today Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was also hooted by the crowds in the presence of Modi at a function in Ranchi to inaugurate a power project.
The audience that included BJP activists chanted `Modi, Modi` as soon as Soren, the JMM leader who runs a coalition with Congress and RJD, took the microphone. Soren, however, continued with his speech as Modi waved at the people for restraint.
The shouts carried on all through Soren`s speech.
Day before yesterday, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had also said that he would not be attending any event with the PM after he was booed by the crowd at the Kaithal in Haryana.
Meanwhile, the Congress had said yesterday that they would not tolerate such incidents in future.
"The suspicion that Modi has dictator`s mentality is now coming true," Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant had said.
Reacting to Congress` reaction BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi tweeted the following today.
Congress can ignore "Modi manch"(dais)'but how will it ignore "MODI mantra "of good governance and development .
— Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) August 21, 2014
With PTI inputs