Dharavi redevelopment Rahul should have got safe from Matoshree would have had valuables says CM

Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for bringing a safe to a press conference and said the latter would have found something valuable if it was brought from Matoshree, the Bandra residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray.
Gandhi on Monday brought a safe to his press conference in Mumbai to mock Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek hai toh safe hai' slogan.
Claiming a link between the slogan and the Dharavi redevelopment project being given to the Adani Group, Gandhi pulled out two posters from the safe, one featuring a picture of industrialist Gautam Adani and PM Modi with the caption "Ek hai toh Safe hai," and another showing a map of the project.
"Rahul Gandhi's act is childish. He should have brought the safe from Matoshree. He might have found something valuable," Shinde said in a swipe at the Congress leader as well as Thackeray.
Attacking Thackeray for claiming only 60,000 people would benefit from the Dharavi redevelopment project, Shinde said the massive makeover of one of the world's densest urban sprawls will give new homes to two lakh people.
"Under Thackeray's leadership (government), only eligible residents, numbering around 60,000, would have got homes," he said while calling the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader's statement as "double standards" and "akin to match fixing".
"We do not seek any political advantage from this. The Dharavi redevelopment project is on a global scale," Shinde asserted.
At his press conference here, Gandhi said the "Ek hai toh safe hai" slogan primarily serves to help Adani acquire Rs one lakh crore land through the Dharavi redevelopment project.
The land under the Dharavi redevelopment project is not given to Adani but to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), a special purpose vehicle in which the state government has a stake, the CM said.
"The DRPPL is a government initiative and not related to Adani," he added.
Questioning Thackeray on why an earlier tender was cancelled, Shinde said "those residing in Dharavi deserve better".
Thackeray neglects the plight of the poor while living in comfort, the CM alleged.
"If a Dharavi resident receives a house worth Rs 1 crore under the project, why do Thackeray and his allies (Maha Vikas Aghadi) have a problem with it," Shinde questioned.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)