Sharad Pawar's remarks about the Dharavi Redevelopment Project exposes the lies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the BJP's Amit Malviya said in a post on X today. Mr Pawar's remarks, make it clear that "Uddhav (Thackeray) and Rahul (Gandhi) had been lying all along to mislead Mumbai and Maharashtra," he wrote.
"It was the Uddhav Thackeray led MVA, which had signed off the Dharavi project to Adani Group," his post read.
In an interview with a digital platform, a clip of which was shared by Mr Malviya, Mr Pawar, the veteran leader of the MVA, said, "The Dharavi issue is not at all there. All these issues were attacking (Gautam) Adani."
"Adani was not interested in Dharavi when this meeting took place. In fact, Dharavi project was given to some other people. They have come here. Some negotiations are on but not with Adani," he added.
"Sharad Pawar rubbishes Rahul Gandhi and Uddhav Thackeray's attack on Adani. He further adds that Adani was not interested in Dharavi Redevelopment project. This, coming from the senior most politician in the MVA camp, just before the crucial polling, is embarrassing for the alliance," Mr Malviya wrote in his post.
The Dharavi Redevelopment project – a joint venture between the Maharashtra government and the Adani Group that is set to give a facelift to the largest slum in Asia – has been hot-button issue for the assembly election in Maharashtra.
Opposition parties have raised concerns about transparency in the awarding of the contract by the ruling alliance in 2022. Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of Shiv Sena UBT, has said the matter concerns the whole of Mumbai.
Dharavi — which has a diverse population and reflects the cosmopolitan spirit of Mumbai — has been a Congress stronghold for two decades. This year, it will see a fight between Congress's Dr Jyoti Gaikwad, sister of Varsha Gaikwad who represented it in the state assembly since 2004, and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's Rajesh Khandare.