Committed to making Mumbai slum-free, says CM in election rally at Kurla

Maharashtra Chief Minister CM Eknath Shinde stated on Sunday that the Mahayuti government aims to make Mumbai slumfree with a focus on providing affordable housing for the poorSpeaking at a rally in Kurla for party candidate Mangesh Kudalkar the CM claimed his government has struck a fine balance between welfare schemes and development projects ldquoIf we can work so much in twoandahalf years imagine how much we will achieve in five yearsrdquo he told the enthusiastic crowd while seeking a renewed mandateldquoWe will provide affordable homes for the poor Donrsquot the poor have the right to a house in Mumbai Canrsquot the son of a poor farmer become CM Or is it only those born with a silver spoon who can achieve thisrdquo he said in a veiled jab at Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav ThackerayAccording to news agency PTI Shinde mentioned that the Mahayuti government had distributed Rs 350 crore from the CMs Relief Fund benefiting one lakh people and urged the gathering to ldquoteach a lesson to those who call your benefits lsquorevdis freebiesrdquoCriticising the opposition for undermining the Ladki Bahin Yojana and attempting to block it in court Shinde cautioned the audience to ldquobe careful of these evil brothersrdquoldquoThe previous CM didnrsquot keep a pen while I keep two We have allocated funds for students youth farmers womens education and senior citizens Government money belongs to the people and they have the first claim on it My government has expedited development works while also focusing on welfare schemesrdquo he assertedMahayuti will unveil manifesto in next twothree days CM ShindePraising Prime Minister Narendra Modi Shinde expressed that the Centre aims to make Maharashtra a powerhouse of growth and Mumbai the countryrsquos fintech capital PTI reported ldquoWe will make Mumbai slumfree by providing ownership homes to slum dwellers This is a propoor government Yoursquove seen our twoandahalf years in office let the voters deciderdquo he statedShinde announced that the Mahayuti would unveil its manifesto in the next two to three days adding a popular Salman Khan film dialogue ldquoEk baar commitment kar diya to apne aap ki bhi nahi suntardquo to emphasise that every promise would be fulfilledAccording to PTI CM also attended at a rally in Andheri East for party candidate Murji Patel During the rally he responded to claims from Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA leaders that they would investigate the Mahayuti governmentrsquos schemes and jail those responsible ldquoWill you let us go to jail The Ladki Bahin Yojana is a superhit Five instalments have been given so far We want to make women lakhpatis The previous government took lsquohaftarsquo extortion while we have disbursed the Ladki Bahin instalment in advancerdquo he explainedReferencing Congress president Mallikarjun Khargersquos advice to be cautious with poll promises Shinde asked the audience if they would vote for such ldquoantidevelopment partiesrdquo ldquoWhat is government money for Is it to increase onersquos own property or to spend on the welfare of the peoplerdquo he questionedWith PTI inputs