MVA criticises CM’s bike ride, stirs ‘PUC’ row with BJP

Chaitanya.Marpakwar

Chaitanya.Marpakwar

Mumbai: The MVA criticised CM Devendra Fadnavis for his motorcycle ride on Thursday, with Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad asking how the CM swapping a car convoy with a motorbike convoy was going to help.

Gaikwad said in a post on X, “A little bit of mileage difference is all? The CM lives near Nepean Sea Road and had to go to Vidhan Bhawan… If he really wanted to set an example, he could have taken the BEST bus from Napean Sea Road and walked a few meters to reach his destination… It is clear all this austerity talk is just a mere photo op and nothing else.”

Gaikwad claimed the Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate of the bike CM Fadnavis was riding had expired. “So ‘Expired Maal’ is ok? It appears that CM chose a vehicle with an expired PUC for his Austerity stunt. Will the RTO and Mumbai Traffic Police and take action? Will the CMO respond?” she stated.

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar also hit out at the CM over the “expired PUC certificate.” “Direct action against CM is not possible, but the OSD (officer on special duty) in his office should be held 100% responsible for this and action must be taken against them. CM won’t sit there checking the PUC, so what is his office doing?” Rohit asked.

BJP slammed Gaikwad for raising questions about the PUC. BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban posted a copy of a letter addressed to the DCP, motor transport dept, by Four Seasons Automobiles Pvt Ltd that they have done service and tune-up of the bike but were unable to process PUC certification as the server was down. Ban stated, “This official vehicle belongs to the police dept. Since the CM himself will be driving it, police had already taken appropriate precautions... Since operations of the vehicle system are closed from May 9 to 18, they had already obtained the certificate stating the vehicle is environmentally compliant.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray said it is “amazing to see members of the government indulge in a drama of austerity with cameras perfectly placed to film it.”

Rohit Pawar said convoys of ministers and officers must certainly be reduced. He added, “If true austerity is to be practiced and public money is to be saved, then the Shaktipeeth Expressway worth Rs 1 lakh crore… should be immediately cancelled.”

-Inputs by Clara Lewis