Mumbai: Senior Congress leaders skip manifesto release for BMC polls

Mumbai: The faction-ridden city unit of Congress on Sunday failed to put up a united show even on the occasion of release of party manifesto for BMC polls, slated on 21 February, with senior leaders like Gurudas Kamat and Ashok Chavan not attending the event led by Sanjay Nirupam. On the occasion, Nirupam, who seems to be getting isolated amid bitter feud between him and Kamat and others, took a dig at the absentees, saying, “If you cannot campaign for the party, at least do not engage in any anti-party campaign”. [caption id=“attachment_3172886” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Sanjay Nirupam. AFP[/caption] In its vision document, the Congress has made a range of promises, some of which already announced by Shiv Sena and the NCP. Among the key assurances is offering free of cost clean drinking water to citizens. The manifesto also promises to make Mumbai a garbage-fee city by developing a new dumping ground and introducing measures like collecting the waste in night. Congress almost imitated the Sena and BJP by promising subsidy in property tax. Sena had declared waiver of property tax for houses up to 500 square feet whereas BJP had assured subsidy in footpath tax. On the lines of cities like Delhi and Chennai, Mumbai Congress is planning subsidised food stalls in city. In a bid to woo the North Indian voters’, the party has promised to implement hawkers’ policy without any change. The policy is currently lying with a cabinet sub-committee after Sena raised an objection. Addressing a rally, Nirupam refuted the allegations levelled by city unit BJP chief Ashish Shelar about the “match-fixing” between Congress and Sena for 42 municipal wards. He said on the contrary people of Mumbai are witnessing a match-fixing between Shiv Sena and BJP. “BJP president Amit Shah himself has said that it’s a ‘friendly match’ between them. Even BJP cabinet minister has himself hinted about post-poll alliance between the saffron parties,” the city unit Congress chief said. He accused the Sena-BJP combine, which has been ruling the BMC for 20 years, of “making fortune through corruption in every ward. In last 20 years they have done nothing other than corruption. In every tender they have a share of loot”. Among those who didn’t attend the rally were state unit Congress president Ashok Chavan, former state minister Narayan Rane, former Union minister Gurudas Kamat, Nasim Khan and Kripashankar Singh. They had accused Nirupam’s “way of functioning and choice of candidates for the BMC polls.” State Congress in-charge Mohan Prakash, former MPs Milind Deora and Priya Dutt were present at the rally.