Mumbai, Dec 1 (NiE): Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that the Shiv Sena and the BJP will together defeat the Congress-NCP in the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Taking recourse to poetry in Marathi, he urged the Opposition to engage in introspection and realise the high speed pace of growth and development in Maharashtra. At the Assembly, he said in Marathi: “2019 cha mahasangram ala javal. Baji marnar senecha baan an bhajapche kamal (the 2019 big battle has come closer. The Shiv Sena’s bow and arrow and BJP’s lotus (the party symbols) would win.”
Urging the opposition parties to indulge in introspection instead of heaping criticism against the ruling BJP-led government, he said: “If you look at the progress card in all core sectors and mega-projects, Maharashtra is marching ahead. What the Congress-NCP could not achieve in 15 years of their rule, we have achieved more than that in housing, agriculture, industries and infrastructure.”
Against the target of 7.38 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) for rural Maharashtra, total houses sanctioned were 5.91 lakh. The government has completed 5.82 lakh houses. The government intends to complete the housing projects under the PMAY by 2020, instead of 2022.
Challenging the Opposition’s criticism against industrial growth and investment, Fadnavis said: “The foreign direct investment in Maharashtra accounts for Rs 3.36 lakh crore between 2015 and 2018. Whereas, the FDI between 2009 and 2014 (Congress-NCP rule) was Rs 1.80 lakh crore.” The FDI in Maharashtra accounts for 49 per cent of the total received in the country.”
He added: “The state has been accorded the Start-up Capital status in the country. Of the total 10,950 start-ups across the country, Maharashtra alone has 2130. The state remains the most favoured destination for domestic and foreign investers.”
Shiv Sena ministers came in full support of the government. Industries Minister Subash Desai said: “The state is the most preferred industrial destination in the country for foreign and domestic investments.” Sena minister Eknath Shinde in-charge of the Public Works Department (Public Undertaking) said: “The Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg will be a game changer. It will bring development and growth in 24 districts of Maharashtra.”