Samruddhi corridor's 1st phase was to be inaugurated on May 1 but an arch collapsed at last moment: Uddhhav

Uddhav Thackeray. File pic

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday claimed the first phase of the Samruddhi Expressway was ready a long time ago and it was supposed to be inaugurated on May 1 this year but just two days before the inauguration a related construction had collapsed.

"I don't know if it was a deliberate act,'' Thackeray said. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway that connects Nagpur and the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.

"The first phase was ready a long time ago. It was supposed to be inaugurated on May 1 this year. But was told just two days before the launch that a 'kaman' (arch) had collapsed," the Shiv Sena chief said.

Also read: Maharashtra: PM inaugurates Phase I of Samruddhi Mahamarg

Thackeray headed the MVA government until it collapsed in June this year. It is important that the project is thrown open to the public, he told reporters when asked about him not being invited to the PM's event.

Responding to a query, Thackeray described as "highly condemnable" the use of SUVs meant for Nirbhaya squads by the Mumbai police for the security of legislators owing allegiance to chief minister Eknath Shinde. He wondered how Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari who had "insulted" the state can share the stage with the prime minister.

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