Mumbai, April 10 Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad accused the BJP-led administration in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation of "discrimination" in the distribution of development funds on Friday.
Speaking to reporters, Gaikwad, who is also a Member of Parliament for Mumbai North Central, alleged discrimination against Congress corporators and called for equal allocation for all elected representatives.
She asserted that the funds belonging to the civic body belong to the people of Mumbai, not any political party, and any disparity in allocation constitutes injustice to citizens.
"Since the BJP came to power in the BMC, corporators from opposition parties have been treated unfairly. Development funds must be distributed equally among all corporators. However, BJP corporators are being given crores of rupees, while Congress corporators are being allotted only a few lakhs," she alleged.
Referring to the Rs 800 crore development fund with the civic body's Standing Committee, Gaikwad claimed that BJP leaders, including House Leader Ganesh Khankar and Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde, were allotted Rs 20 crore each, while Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadhi received Rs 10 crore.
"BJP corporators were given Rs 2.25 crore each. In contrast, several opposition corporators have been given only Rs 25 lakh. Corporators from parties such as Samajwadi Party, AIMIM and NCP (SP) received substantial funds," Gaikwad added.
She asked what the BJP's interest was in these parties and why the Congress was being singled out.
"Even opposition corporators are elected by the people, and depriving them of adequate funds denies development to citizens in their wards. The funds are not the property of any party or leader; they belong to Mumbaikars and must be used for their development," she said.
The Congress will continue to raise the issue and seek accountability over the alleged discrimination, the Lok Sabha MP added.