'Thank Maharashtra CM's wife Amruta Fadnavis for plastic ban'

Ramdas Kadam and Amruta Fadnavis

State environment minister and Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam was full of optimism and tongue-in-cheek jokes on the eve of the implementation of the plastic ban. One of his jocular barbs was towards Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's wife Amruta. Kadam said they didn't face resistance against the ban because she was one of the people who called to recommend it. "Since it was his [CM's] wife and he listens to her, we knew there might not be much opposition to this initiative," he said.

Kadam was speaking at the National Sports Club of India, Worli during the inauguration of an exhibition organised to provide alternatives to plastic. After the three-month extension on it ended on Friday, the ban is set to come into effect from today. The BMC-initiated exhibition, where about 60-odd companies participated along with 52 self-help groups, was inaugurated by actors Ajay Devgn and Kajol along with Kadam, who had initiated the plastic ban in the state and come out with a law for it. Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, who had spearheaded the idea behind the curtains, was also present.

While Devgn and Kajol urged citizens to actively participate in this plastic ban by completely avoiding the use of plastic, the environment minister was busy taking a dig on its ruling ally in the state government - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing the crowd at NSCI, Kadam first took a jibe by claiming that 80 per cent of the plastic in the state comes from Gujarat, and he expected Fadnavis to go soft on this issue as it would affect the business community.

Further, he also pointed out how Shiv Sena, the party he belongs to, doesn't take hasty decisions like demonetisation. Speaking about the plastic ban, he said, "We first thought about it, thoroughly studied it and only after that we implemented it. CM's wife Amruta is the reason why we could actually implement this ban without much opposition. After Aadityaji [Thackeray] told me about this [ban], CM's wife had called my office about the same plan as well, since Juhi Chawla had approached her. Since it was his [CM's] wife and he listens to her, we knew there might not be much opposition to this initiative. We worked collectively with a few others to implement this. I will not take back this plastic ban, I will resign if need be but not bow down to the pressure."

Also Read: Mumbai plastic ban from June 23: Here's what you need to know

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates