Congress accuses Modi, Fadnavis of politicising Shivaji memorial event

Instead of wasting money on marketing,the amount should be utilised for construction of the memorial

The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of trying to derive a political mileage from scheduled foundation stone laying ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial, which will be performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Government is spending Rs 18 crore for publicity of the event. The money is being used for marketing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image.

"Instead of wasting money on marketing the two leaders, the amount should be utilised for construction of the memorial," Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Ashok Chavan told reporters.

Modi will be laying the foundation stone for the memorial, coming up on an islet in Arabian sea off the city coast, on December 24.

Against the backdrop of the BJP touting the project as "vachanpurti" or fulfilment of their electoral promise, Chavan said it was the Congress which had made the commitment for the construction of the memorial in their poll manifesto.

"When we assured this in our manifesto the BJP never spoke about it. We even made the budgetary provision for the project. BJP is politicising the event. Fishing community has some reservations and the government should resolve them," he added.