Don’t sell off your land, Raj Thackeray tells Konkan people

Raj slammed the government over the condition of Mumbai-Goa highway.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) took to the streets on Sunday to highlight the poor condition of the Mumbai-Goa Highway with Raj Thackeray questioning the government over the 2,500-plus deaths in the last 15-17 years on the important road passing through the coastal Konkan region.

“I don’t distinguish between governments…I want to ask the government as to who is responsible for the deaths of 2,500-plus people in the last 15-17 years on the Mumbai-Goa highway,” Raj said addressing a meeting at Kolad in the Raigad district of Maharashtra.

Raj recalled the construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway under the leadership of then Maharashtra’s public works minister and now Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari.

“I recall…with the blessings of Balasaheb Thackeray (when the Shiv Sena-BJP government was in power) Gadkari executed the Mumbai-Pune Expressway project…it was a trendsetter and it showed the way to such high-class roads…but now look at this Mumbai-Goa Highway in the same Maharashtra,” he said.

“Today we are telling the government decently,” he said, indicating that his party would aggressively take up the issue.

“Do you know why this is happening? People of Konkan are selling their land…people are selling their land off…please don’t do that….these people would purchase it and once the road is upgraded, these corporate people would sell the same land at prices 100 times the purchase cost,” he said and urged people of Konkan not to sell their land.

During the day, top MNS leaders conducted a padyatra on the Mumbai-Goa Highway in which Raj’s son Amit Thackeray too participated. Top MNS leaders took part in the protest.

"If you call my colleagues who protested for the Mumbai-Goa Highway for 17 years as traitors, what about those who are responsible for the deaths due to this bad road? The issue of Mumbai-Goa Highway is a very serious issue,” said Amit.