Sharad Pawar disapproves of tirades against Adani by Thackeray, Gandhi

It was Uddhav Thackeray who gave the contract of reviving Dharavi to Adani, Sharad Pawar said in an interview where he also took exception to the opposition's constant attacks on India's richest man

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The Squirrels Bureau
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The opposition's tirades against industrialist Gautam Adani and his businesses, Maha Vikas Aghadi's tallest leader and NCP chief Sharad Pawar has expressed his disapproval of the criticism of Uddhav Thackeray's remarks about the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. The lies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, BJP social media head Amit Malviya said in a post on X today, make it clear that Uddhav (Thackeray) and Rahul (Gandhi) had been lying all along to mislead Mumbai and Maharashtra.

Bringing a semblance of order to the mess that is Dharavi, which has the dubious distinction of being the largest slum in Asia, was always a tall order, and it was the Thackeray-led MVA government, Pawar now reveals, who had given the contract for the overhaul of the huge filthy settlement to Adani.

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project, a collaboration between the Maharashtra government and the Adani Group aimed at revitalizing Asia's largest slum, has become a contentious topic in the Maharashtra assembly elections. 

Opposition parties have expressed worries regarding the transparency of the contract awarded by the ruling coalition in 2022. Uddhav Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena UBT, emphasized that this issue affects all of Mumbai.

Two ex-NDTV journalists, two different takes on Adani

In yet another twist, while this interview of Pawar appeared on a channel associated with Prannoy Roy, formerly the chief of NDTV, the majority stakes of which were bought by Adani a few years ago, another NDTV associate, Sreenivasan Jain, has thrown his weight behind Gandhi and Thackeray.

Jain interviewed Pawar too, where the NCP head told him that Adani had hosted a meeting at his house, attended by Amit Shah and top NCP leaders, including Pawar himself. Gautam Adani "was hosting dinner". But he did not take part in the "political conversations", Pawar reportedly told Jain.

In yet another related development, Ajit Pawar told Jain he was present at meetings with Gautam Adani, Amit Shah and Sharad Pawar, to plan the NCP's crossing over to the BJP.

Dharavi, known for its diverse population that embodies the cosmopolitan essence of Mumbai, has been a bastion of Congress for the past twenty years. This year, the constituency will witness a contest between Dr. Jyoti Gaikwad of Congress, sister of Varsha Gaikwad who has served in the state assembly since 2004, and Rajesh Khandare from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Uddhav Thackeray Sharad Pawar Gautam Adani Maharashtra NCP Indian National Congress election Rahul Gandhi