Colour of development is white: BJP taunts Sena over LED issue

The war of words between BJP and Shiv Sena over the installation of yellow LED lights at the iconic Marine Drive continued with the senior partner taunting its ally for opposing white LEDs at the popular spot, saying the "colour of development is white".
Sena and BJP have been sparring over LED lights at Marine Drive ever since the old sodium vapour lamps were replaced by white LED lights in January last year.
The move had run into trouble after Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray claimed that white lights had "stolen the charm of the Queen's Necklace". Recently, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had replaced the white LEDs with yellow ones.

In his recent tweet, Thackeray had lambasted the Centre and state government for their bid to push through the proposal to instal white LED street lights at the promenade.
"We must practically accept LEDs cannot light up Marine Drive. Do not have enough lux. Light is the need, energy saving ways could be found. I am pro-clean and renewable energy. Lighting up roads or use dim light symbolically," he had said in one of his tweets.
In another tweet, he reminded the Narendra Modi-led dispensation at Centre that in a federal structure, the government must ask the local self-governing bodies first while making any policy changes.

However, taunting Thackeray over his remarks, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar has now tweeted, "We showed it by constructing flyovers, Sealink in Mumbai, Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Same BJP government is now building Mumbai-Goa Highway - the colour of development is White."

On the omission of Mumbai from the first list of 20 cities to be developed as Smart Cities, Shelar tweeted, "Those who opposed giving site for Metro have also opposed Smart City. Was Mumbai chance postponed further? Installing Yellow lights will not hide the truth."
The Mumbai civic body had decided to install LED lights across the city, starting with Marine Drive after Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal met the then Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte last year.

However, the project has run into controversy with leaders fighting over the installation of lights at the promenade.