Keeping her promise, Bharatiya Janata Party’s sulking leader Pankaja Munde on Monday went on a symbolic hunger-strike to draw the state government’s attention to the water woes of Maharashtra.
However, the senior ex-minister succeeded in grabbing more attention for herself with a host of top party leaders marking presence at the protest outside the Aurangabad Divisional Commissionerate this morning.
Flanked by her sister and MP Pritam Munde, Pankaja was joined by a host of who’s who of senior BJP leaders like Union Minister of State Raosaheb Patil-Danve, Leader of Opposition in Assembly and ex-Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Leader of Opposition in Council Pravin Darekar, ex-Speaker Haribhau Bagade.
Other seniors leaders were planning to join her during her daylong hunger strike, though it was not clear whether state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil would be present at the show of strength.
In her brief address, Pankaja said she was not here to criticize the Maha Vikas Aghadi Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, but “draw the attention of the government to the serious water crisis plaguing the parched Marathwada region”.
She urged Thackeray to immediately take measures to implement the ‘Marathwada Water Grid’ announced by the previous Fadnavis regime to solve the water problems of the people in Marathwada.
Early Sep. 2019, barely days before the Oct. 21 Maharashtra assembly elections were announced, Fadnavis had announced a grand Rs.3,122-crore project to create integrated pipe networks to permanently solve the water shortage in parts of Marathwada for drinking, industrial and agriculture purposes.
The 11 dams in the Marathwada districts are proposed to be interlinked to move water from those which have excess to the deficient ones, and distribute it with pipelines to the people.
Speaking at Pankaja’s agitation venue, Fadnavis said there are fears that the MVA government will discontinue the scheme and deprive the Marathwada people of their rightful share of water, but warned this would not be tolerated.
Responding, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said that the project is being merely reviewed and after studying it the appropriate decision would be taken.
Taking a swipe at Munde, Food & Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said “if they (the BJP govt) had worked sincerely for five years, the situation would not have come to this stage” for launching an agitation.
It may be recalled that after suffering a rout in the Oct. 2019 assembly elections at the hands of her cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, Pankaja Munde had kept the BJP on tenterhooks blowing-hot-blowing-cold at some leaders.
On Dec. 12, speaking in Beed, she had announced the Jan. 27 agitation during the birth anniversary celebrations of her father and the late union minister Gopinath Munde.-IANS News
