Behind Shinde govt’s 11th-hour Mumbai toll waiver, there’s decade-long politics and a ‘flawed’ contract
The Raj Thackeray-led MNS had led a shrill campaign for a toll-free Maharashtra from 2012 to 2014, with the then undivided Shiv Sena and the BJP, too, taking up the issue with the then government of the Congress and the undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).“This is a historic decision. It is a masterstroke,” CM Shinde told reporters in Mumbai after the cabinet meeting.“There has been a demand for toll waiver here for many years. Toll collection would lead to a lot of traffic congestion, too. As an MLA, I have also agitated for a toll waiver and had gone to court over it. This decision will benefit many people, including middle-class families; it will save time, fuel and reduce pollution,” he added.
Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) in a post on...