BJP pushing for Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Express to help Adani, Ambani: Maharashtra Congress President

Palghar: Despite the opposition of farmers and no actual necessity, the BJP government is pushing for the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Express to help "Adani and Ambani", Maharashtra Congress President Harshavardhan Sapkal said.

“Through jetties, a direct transport corridor from the coastline to Central India is being created, essentially laying out a red carpet for Adani and Ambani. This route is designed to facilitate the trade of Goa’s coal and minerals for these two industrialists and to allow them to exploit the abundant minerals found in Konkan,” Sapkal told at a news conference during his visit to the Palghar district.

“The united people of Konkan are being deliberately divided, and inflammatory statements by ministers from Sindhudurg are being used to create discord. The same tactics are now being employed in Palghar, where local lands are being handed over to industrialists. Despite Palghar being a tribal area, the protections granted to them under land acquisition laws are being blatantly violated,” the state Congress chief alleged.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, he said: "While top leaders of the state government keep singing praises of (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, this so-called "triple-engine" government lacks the courage to go to Delhi and secure a special financial package for Maharashtra.”

“Fadnavis was the CM from 2014 to 2019, then maneuvered political defections to hold the Deputy CM post for 2.5 years, and is now back as CM again. The BJP government at both the centre and the state has secured a massive majority, yet Maharashtra is in a dire state, and Fadnavis' government is solely responsible. Farmers are not getting fair prices for their produce, they are drowning in debt, unemployment has skyrocketed, and law and order have collapsed,” said Sapkal.

“Crimes against women are rising, and new criminal gangs are emerging. Groups like the Sand Mafia, Koyta (sickle) Gang, Aaka Gang, and Khokya Gang are wreaking havoc. Goons affiliated with the ruling party are openly engaging in extortion,” he said.