New Delhi: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday threatened not to allow the construction of bullet train infrastructure to begin in Mumbai until the existing rail network was fixed.
Raj came out all guns blazing against the BJP-led central and state government, saying it was false to say rains caused the death of 22 people. "They (Railway) say it happened due to rains... It is not the first time that it rained in Mumbai," he said.
A large number of people gathered on the Elphinstone road station footover bridge on Friday morning when heavy rains lashed the area. According to Railway PRO, a person slipped and chaos ensued, leading to a stampede, killing 22 people and injuring scores of others.
Raj went on to say that India didn't need terrorists or enemies like Pakistan. "It seems our own railway is enough to kill people."
He announced that he will be leading a protest to the Western Railways Headquarters at Churchgate on October 5, and quiz officials about the infrastructure.
Raj said that a list of issues afflicting Mumbai local rail network will be handed over to the Railways on the same day with a deadline to act.
He said that a deadline to throw out all the illegal hawkers of station bridges will also be given. "If they fail to accomplish the task on or before the deadline, we will act on our own."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe had recently laid the foundation stone for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project. However, ever since the ceremony, the Prime Minister has faced stiff criticism, particularly after a number of rail derailments in the past few months.
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