NCP legislator Sunil Tingre calls off hunger strike, BJP calls it a ‘stunt’

Meanwhile, the BJP and NCP are engaged in a war of words over the issues raised in the strike.

Tingre had gone on a hunger strike on Thursday to protest against the failure of PMC to take up civic infrastructure work in his constituency. However, the BJP alleged that the hunger strike was a “stunt” to take credit for the development work planned or started by the BJP when it had control of PMC.

The PMC was controlled by the BJP in the previous five-year term that ended last year and is presently governed by an Administrator appointed by the state government.

The issues raised by Tingre include blocked roads, water problems, and traffic-related woes for which common people suffer. “The PMC has given written assurance of speeding up the civic infrastructure work proposed and planned in Vadgaonsheri,” Tingre said, after calling off the strike held outside the civic headquarters.

वडगावशेरी मतदार संघातील अनेक प्रश्न प्रलंबित असून ते सोडविण्यासाठी उपोषणाला आजपासून सुरवात..!#लाक्षणिक_उपोषण #उपोषण #वडगाव_शेरी #suniltingre #mlasuniltingre #vadgaonsheriassembly #suniltingreofficial #lohgaon #porwalroad #nagarroad pic.twitter.com/N03Ay9wnXr

— Sunil Tingre (@suniltingre) April 6, 2023

Earlier, NCP leaders, including city NCP chief Prashant Jagtap, legislator Chetan Tupe and former corporators, and party workers gathered in huge numbers in support of Tingre’s strike. Many aspirants for PMC elections also made their presence felt.

Tingre was elected to the state Legislative Assembly from the Vadgaonsheri constituency in 2019 by upsetting the then-sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Jagdish Mulik, who is now the BJP Pune unit chief.

Tingre had said there was an urgent need for flyovers, decongestion of city roads, water problems in Lohegaon, Khandobamal Road and Development Plan roads, and slum rehabilitation work. “We have given in writing about the efforts being undertaken by the PMC to resolve the issues of Vadgaonsheri,” additional municipal commissioner Vikas Dhakane said.

He added that the civic and police officials will visit each of the road sites where there are problems.

However, city BJP chief Jagdish Mulik and former Vadgaonsheri legislator Bapu Pathare took on Tingre saying that the legislator was “doing a stunt”.

“There are multiple infrastructure projects either already taken up or planned to improve traffic in Vadgaonsheri. The projects are in different stages and would be completed in the next few years. The NCP MLA is merely taking up the issue to show that these projects are because of him,” Mulik said.

He added: “The hunger strike by Tingre is nothing but an effort to hide his failures as a legislator. He has not done any infrastructure-related work to address the problems of Vadgaonsheri and the voters will make him pay the price for it in the next Assembly election.”

Reacting to the BJPs statements, Tingre said, “The city BJP chief should wake up and accept the reality that civic administration was not working efficiently. This is the experience of all legislators from the city, including that of the BJP.”