Absent MPs hurt Pune development: activists

They say MP Suresh Kalmadi,now behind bars over the CWG scam,is sinking deeper into trouble after the CBI filed a chargesheet on Friday against him as the “main accused’ in a case related to irregularities in awarding a contract to a Swiss firm.

First the CWG preparations kept him busy and after the games,he was busy fending off corruption charges,and did not even appear in public functions and key official meetings of the party in the city,civic activists point out.

BJP and Shiv Sena have been pressing for his resignation as city MP. BJP leader Sandeep Khardekar said the MP is supposed to push development works and secure funds from the government. Pune city,he said,has suffered because of the MP’s absence. “MPs have a developmental role to play. In case of Pune city,crucial issues like development plan,BRTS and metro are hanging in the balance as the MP has been absent,” he said.

“Once he is out of jail,Kalmadi will complete his unfinished agenda for the city,” says his personal assistant Manoj Bhore.

Opponents of Baramati MP Supriya Sule,meanwhile,alleged that she is not giving enough time to the constituency. On Saturday,she said this was not true.

BJP’s Kanta Nalawade,who was defeated by Sule in the polls,says,“I stay in Mumbai,but make it point to visit Baramati often. But Sule rarely is available in the constituency which elected her by a margin of two lakh votes.”

“Sugarcare on nearly 100 hectares of land is lying idle. There are three sugar factories in Baramati,but no takers for farmers’ produce. In such a situation,the MP has to take the initiative and resolve the issue,” said Nalawade.

Sule has also been defending herself from several allegations made by Opposition leader in the Assembly,Eknath Khadse,which she has denied.

On Saturday,Sule said,”If anybody is saying I am not available for my people,then he or she is grossly misinformed. I am always at the beck and call of my voters.”

In Maval and Shirur constituencies,Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Babar and Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil don’t see eye-to-eye. The two camps are busy trying to outwit each other,said the civic activists.

On Wednesday,Babar supporters held a function in Adhalrao’s constituency where Adhalrao was missing. On Friday,the Adhalrao camp held a demonstration in Babar’s area where Babar was missing.

Though both deny any differences between them,they admit that they speak to each other only when it is a must. “We usually speak to each other when we bump into each other in Parliament or at party meetings,” said Babar. Civic activist Sachin Godambe said,“Since both MPs are at loggerheads,they have been unable to put pressure on the PCMC to implement development works.”

Adhalrao,who was accused by a former minister of acting against the interest of warkaris,is also facing hurdles from the NCP in his constituency. Adhalrao had in the last term promised a rural hospital like Sassoon in his constituency,but that plan has not moved ahead. Babar claims that because of him,the government scrapped the Pradhikaran project which would have benefited the developer by over Rs 1,000 crore.

Khardekar says the Metro project and the highway and expressway toll issues are priority in Pune. “These need all the MPs to come together. But that doesn’t look a possibility…” All the four MPs,says railway activist Harsha Shah,have failed to get even one extra local train in two years.