Maha Cong apologises to BJP for ‘false’ charges on MLA

Mumbai, May 9: The Maharashtra Congress on Sunday demanded apology from the BJP for levelling “false” allegations of corruption against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state over the Manora MLA hostel project in Mumbai.
On May 7, BJP legislator Atul Bhatkalkar had written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging Rs 300 crore scam in the redevelopment of Manora MLA hostel in south Mumbai, and said the cost had increased by 66 per cent.
Responding to the charges, state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said in a statement, “BJP’s lies are exposed as the central government-owned National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) company has decided the cost of the project for reconstruction of the Manora MLA Hostel.”
Therefore, Bhatkhalkar and the BJP, who have been levelling corruption charges without knowing how the figure of Rs 900 crore arrived at, must now offer an unconditional apology, he said.
The decision to rebuild the Manora MLA hostel was taken by the Devendra Fadnavis government and the work was given to NBCC by that dispensation, he said.
“The NBCC had first stated the cost of the project at Rs 810 crore in the draft e-tender notice submitted to the legislature on February 28, 2020. But in December that year, it increased the cost of the project to Rs 875.62 crore in their detailed estimate,” he said.
Due to the delay, the state government took away the contract from NBCC and handed it over to the Public Works Department, Sawant added.
Congress shares power with Shiv Sena and NCP in the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray. (PTI)