Don't Give Up Land for Bullet Train, Raj Tells Farmers

Mumbai, May 1 (PTI) MNS chief Raj Thackeray today appealed the farmers in Maharashtra not to give up their land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.

Addressing a public rally at Vasai in neighbouring Palghar district, Thackeray said, "People here should not sell their land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, as well as for the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway.

"It is a ploy to purchase land in the name of bullet train and evict Marathi people from Mumbai (and surrounding area), which was separated from Gujarat in 1960," Thackeray said, referring to the creation of the separate states of Maharashtra and Gujarat on May 1, 1960.

"It is high time we Marathi people forgot our differences over caste and creed and fought against such projects which are being imposed on us," the MNS chief said.

Thackeray also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the claim of achieving 100 per cent rural electrification.

"The prime minister claims that all villages in the country have been connected with the electricity network now. Were we living in the dark before 2014?" Thackeray asked.

On Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's claim of digging 1,20,000 wells in the state, Thackeray said, "Fadnavis must have counted potholes in the streets as wells.

"He can't take any decision, as he is merely a stooge of Modi and (BJP chief) Amit Shah," Thackeray alleged.

"There is no water in many villages but the chief minister claims to have constructed four lakh toilets. How can it be true if there is no sufficient water?"

The MNS chief also asked how some outsiders came to know about the proposed Nanar oil refinery project in the coastal Ratnagiri district and bought land in the area in advance. "It is suspicious," he said.

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