Ugly politics in Maha as Sena, NCP remain in ruling and Oppn camps: MNS chief

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday deplored the "ugly" politics in the state, saying factions of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are in power and also in Opposition.

"In Maharashtra, the parties which are in power are also in the Opposition. Such a scenario exists only in our state, and nowhere else in the world. I have never seen such an absurd and ugly political situation. Factions of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are in power and the remnants are in the Opposition," he said.

Thackeray was addressing a meeting ahead of the registration of voters for the graduates and teachers constituencies' elections.

The Shiv Sena split last year when senior leader Eknath Shinde and the bulk of MLAs rebelled against the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde later joined hands with the BJP to become chief minister.

In July this year, senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government after rebelling against NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar had told the Election Commission that a majority of MLAs support him.

Thackeray also condemned the collapse of a girder of an overbridge which was being constructed on a section of the Mumbai-Goa highway in Chiplun city on Monday.

“The flyover (overbridge) worth Rs 140 crore was damaged even before its construction was completed. Crores of rupees are wasted but nobody is bothered. Still, votes are sought and people too exercise the franchise,” he added.

The MNS chief, who had threatened to burn down the toll booths if the state government's purported order to exempt small vehicles from paying the toll was not implemented, cited a lack of data on the number of vehicles passing through toll plazas.

"90 cameras are installed at every toll booth but still there is no account of how many vehicles pass through it. Mumbai and Thane register hundreds of vehicles every day. However, the number of vehicles passing through these toll booths does not change. How is this possible?” he wondered.