BJP will divide Mumbai, 'loot' BMC coffers, claims Congress

Mumbai: With the civic elections around the corner in Maharashtra, the Congress on Saturday launched an attack on the BJP, alleging that Mumbai will be "unsafe" under the saffron party, which will "loot" the coffers of the BMC, the richest municipal corporation in the country, and divide the people of the city.

Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad accused the BJP of spreading hatred during the festive season.

"Mumbaikars, don't fall for the deception. Even in the sweetness of Diwali, the BJP is distributing the poison of hatred. By dividing Mumbai, the BJP wants to seize control of the BMC's safe and loot Mumbai," Gaikwad claimed in a post on X.

She further alleged that the BJP's politics posed a threat to the city's harmony.

Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, in a tweet, said, "Mumbai is unsafe with BJP and the ruling party only wants to loot the civic body's coffers and divide the people of the city." The Supreme Court has ordered the State Election Commission to complete polls to rural and local bodies, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), by January 31.

State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant claimed that the BJP plays the politics of polarisation every election.

"We saw it during the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls — rallies like the so-called 'Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morchas', and hate slogans such as 'Ek hai to safe hai, batoge to katoge'. Their (BJP) leaders routinely make venomous statements,'' he said.

He alleged that the same pattern was being repeated in Mumbai ahead of the civic polls.

Sawant said the campaign for the civic polls should focus on real issues concerning the city.

"This election is about Mumbai — its sanitation, the desilting of drains, the flooding that happens every year, the state of civic hospitals and schools, broken sewers, filthy and inadequate public toilets for women, crumbling footpaths, potholes that kill people, massive traffic jams, garbage mismanagement, misuse of open spaces, builder-politician nexus, contractor corruption, and the BMC's financial decline," he said.

"Mumbai, the country's financial capital, is gravely ill. If we truly wish to save it, we must talk about improving its health and easing the lives of Mumbaikars," he said.

Sawant said that the Congress was determined to defeat the BJP's polarisation agenda and work to make Mumbai a global city that values human life and inclusivity.