Mumbai: Raj Thackeray led a massive march Thursday in the city centre, from Metro Theatre to Churchgate terminus to express anger at the pathetic infrastructure of the railways and protest against the stampede at Elphinstone Road station where 23 people died recently.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, notching out a role of political significance after becoming irrelevant, today marched with thousands of supporters to protest how the pathetic condition of Mumbai and suburban remained unchanged in spite of a new BJP-led state government.
He also lashed out at the Central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies, especially his pet project of the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and said, how long will Modi “continue to tell lies” to the country.
Giving a speech outside the Western Railway headquarters outside Churchgate station, an uncommon venue since police do not permit any protests or meetings within the city centre, he gave 15 days for the Railways to clear the foot over bridges (FOB) across the suburban rail network. The recent stampede had occurred on a narrow FOB built during the British era.
“If the Central and Western Railways don’t clear the FOBs, we will do it ourselves” and added the Railways would be responsible if there was a ruckus. MNS activists have a reputation of resorting to violence, especially against North Indian migrant workers, who they consider as taking away the jobs of the local Mumbai people and adding to the population of an already crowded city. He also warned that the rally which was peaceful on Thursday may not be so the next time.
He pointed out how Mumbai continued to be unsafe, with families being not sure whether their loved ones will return home safely in the evening. “People are dying either due to bomb blasts, potholes on the road or in a stampede. This is not acceptable. All the time they talk of setting up high level committees to look into it. What they do I don’t know.”
Lamenting how the problems of rail commuters in Mumbai have persisted for decades with no improvement in sight, he lashed out at the government and railways for its neglect and apathy. He also said former union railway minister Suresh Prabhu was removed from his post as he opposed the bullet train. “Whom is the bullet train going to benefit? You will run bullet trains for a handful of people.”
In a scathing attack on the prime minister, he remarked, “Instead of real issues, the government is focusing on issues such as demonetisation, Swachch Bharat, Yoga and GST.”
Earlier, Modi used to criticise the previous government “when you were in opposition, but you haven’t done anything even after being in power.”
He said Modi had raised the hopes of Indian voters who “gave you a majority and helped you to form a government. You said ‘Achche Din (good days) will come, but when will it happen?”
The turnout of the massive crowd for Raj Thackeray should rattle the ruling BJP and Sena, headed by his cousin Uddhav Thackeray, since it reveals the prevalent anger and disappointment among Mumbaikars. The stampede at the railway station just triggered off this outrage that Mumbai continues to crumble due to an apathetic administration.
