Maha Vikas Aaghadi to Spend State Share in Modi’s Pet Bullet Train on Farmers’ Welfare

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government’ share of Rs, 5,000 crore in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Rs, 1,01,100 crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is set to screech to a halt. The funds instead will be spent on farmers’ welfare, as per the common minimum programme (CMP) agreed to by the Maha Vikas Aaghadi – the Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress alliance—say sources.

Maharashtra was supposed to spend Rs 5,000 crore on Modi’s pet bullet train project, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by Devendra Fadnavis, had accepted this demand made by the Centre. It had even approved Rs 124 crore as the first installment. But now this amount will be stopped. 

The new government that is set to swear in soon, has decided this in its common minimum programme, sources close to the development said.

Farmers of Maharashtra will get complete loan waiver. The Maharashtra's share for bullet train will be spent now on farmers’ welfare, says the CMP, which is yet to be officially made public. 

The new government, to be led by Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress is likely to be sworn in by the end of this month. The contentious issues in the CMP have been dealt with, sources said, sharing few major points with NewsClick. 

According to the CMP, the new alliance will be called Maha Vikas Aghadi i.e. Grand Development Alliance. 

The other important issue was the use of the word ‘secularism’, especially as Shiv Sena is known for its Right-Wing politics, whereas Congress and NCP are considered secular parties. 

So, during the making of the CMP, the Congress was insisted on inserting the word 'secular' into the document. But it has been now decided that the new government will function 'according to preamble of Constitution of India'. This will not give any space to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to attack Shiv Sena over losing its Hindutva agenda.  The Sena recently broke its over three-decade-old alliance with BJP and also quit the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.

The CMP also plans to assure a mega recruitment drive in government bodies as well as different departments. There are almost 72,000 direct vacancies in state government departments. The previous Fadnavis government had started an online system, 'MahaPortal'. However, the functioning of the portal has been a matter of grave concern for all aspiring youths of state, who found it “suspicious”. Therefore, the CMP promises to restore the old “transparent” system of government recruitment in the state. 

The Congress Working Committee in Delhi on Thursday reportedly granted in-principle approval to the party to form government in Maharashtra along with the NCP and Shiv Sena, PTI reported.

The three parties have apparently also reached a consensus on the number of ministerial berths The Sena will get the chief minister’s post for all five years, whereas the NCP and Congress will get Deputy CM’s posts. Also, Sena and NCP will get 15 ministerial berths each, whereas Congress will get 12, said sources. The Speaker’s post in the Assembly is likely to be given to Congress. 

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will himself be the CM, while NCP's Ajit Pawar will be DCM. From Congress's side, Ashok Chavan or Balasaheb Thorat could be DCM, it is learnt. If Congress gets the Speaker’s post, then Prithviraj Chavan will be given this constitutional responsibility, said sources. 

NCP and Congress leader are slated to meet Sena leaders in Mumbai on Friday, where they will formally announce the alliance. Meanwhile, Sena is taking all its MLAs to Jaipur, Rajasthan, on Thursday itself. 

After the official announcement, senior leaders of all three parties will seek an appointment with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. As per sources, the meeting with Governor will be held on Monday or Tuesday of last week of November. The government formation process is expected to start with that meeting.