12/4/2019
PUNE: Senior
Congressman from the city and party candidate for Pune Lok Sabha elections Mohan Joshi interacted with pune-news.com Reporter.
There is a
strong demand for change in Pune, right from the common man to the business
community. People are fed up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
While campaigning in the city, I am getting these reactions from the people.
Residents are eager for change and I can sense it. The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) candidate is now tired and I have taken the lead in the first phase of
poll campaign. The Bharatiya Janata Party government has done nothing in the
last five years, Girish Bapat is the speed breaker in Pune’s development. Pune
is a non-capital, yet one of the fast-growing cities in the country city. So,
my vision is to make Pune a high-tech city considering its growing young
population.
Talking about the top four points on the agenda about Pune in his
polling campaign, he said that - My top focus is on the youth and students in
our city, followed by safety of women, environment and traffic situation. All
these are serious issues of Pune which needs to be addressed. Pune has become
an international educational hub and students from across the globe come here
to study. However, students from Pune after graduation want to go to any
institute like Indian Institute of Management (IIM) or pursue postgraduate
courses outside the city. Hence, more government institutions should be set up
in the city as many students cannot afford the hefty fees of private
institutions. Efforts should be made to create more employment avenues in the
city.
While women work at par with men at workplace, their safety
should be top priority. Steps should be taken to reduce the city’s crime rate.
Ineffective water management has left residents to face weekly water cuts. So,
my effort will be to look at and improve every sector in Pune.
When asking ,what the most serious issue facing Pune now,
Mohan Joshi said that traffic problem is the main issue in the city and the BJP
government has failed to address it. The solution is sustainable public
transport. When I was a member of legislative assembly (MLA), I took up the
‘Mission PMPML’ initiative for one year. Today, as there is no good quality
buses and poor service, people prefer to use personal vehicles.
A no-nonsense official like Tukaram Mundhe, who was serving as
the chairman and managing director of Pune Municipal Transport Corporation
Limited (PMPML), was transferred by the BJP government in short time. Route
rationalisation, maintenance of buses and upgrade of depots are needed, which
we will do after coming to power. Metro is a necessity, but huge amount of
funds are invested in the project.
The Metro plan was Congress’ project, but its execution started
only after the BJP government came to power in the state and centre.
No, I always followed up of the project and its permission was
given during the Congress rule. On the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) level,
its detailed project report (DPR) was also chalked out during the Congress
period. So, BJP is responsible for its delay, as BJP Pune MP Anil Shirole
opposed its layout at that time. Nagpur Metro is functional, but Pune is
lagging behind. The reason is chief minister Devendra Fadnavis holds grudge
against Pune and Bapat.
While the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) launch timing was
wrong for us, so BJP went ahead with the pilot project. Many controversies
happened, but the BJP government didn’t address it. Metro cannot be the only
solution to Pune’s traffic issue.
Answering the statements of other leaders that Congress lost
ground in the city in the last few years, Mohan Joshi said, It is not right to
say that Congress’ popularity has gone down in Pune. When Suresh Kalmadi was an
active politician, he used to focus in Delhi and being a Rajya Sabha member of
Parliament (MP), I used to concentrate in Pune. Many projects happened when
Kalmadi was Pune’s MP. People need a face and I am the face of Pune Congress,
everyone recognises me. People trust me and I will win this election.
When asking, how are you going to fulfil the promises made by
Congress in national manifesto and your assurance to take steps to provide job
opportunities for youth, Joshi said, “I will not be giving assurances, but work
on options that are feasible and workable. The things which can be worked out
only will be included in my Pune manifesto, which will be released soon.”
Joshi further said that BJP changing its Pune Lok Sabha
candidate speaks volumes about Anil Shirole’s work. Now I have a burden on me,
as Pune’s development stalled from 2014 and I need to bridge the gap. I need to
prepare a development plan till 2024.
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