Cong’s Mumbai chief Varsha Gaikwad slams Mhada CEO for ‘threatening’ protester

Mumbai: City Congress chief MP Varsha Gaikwad on Sunday slammed Mhada vice president and CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal for allegedly threatening a protester who was reportedly raising demands related to the Motilal Nagar redevelopment project. Gaikwad shared a video that went viral on social media where Jaiswal, an IAS officer of the 1996 batch, is seen referring to the protester as ‘ghuskhor' from the stage while addressing a gathering of residents on Friday evening at Goregaon's Ganesh Maidan. Jaiswal then asked police to verify the man's identity and said that if the person turns out to be a ‘ghuskhor', he would be picked up from there.While Jaiswal was not available for comment, a senior Mhada official said that in Marathi, 'ghuskhor' meant an ‘illegal occupant', which is a commonly used term in the state govt agencies dealing with encroachments and slums. "There was no mention of any religion or nationality. A group of people were trying to provoke officials and create a ruckus during the event. Most of them were not residents of Motilal Nagar. When one was asked for his ID by the police, he refused to give the ID and so the VP asked to verify if he was an illegal occupant of a tenement in Motilal Nagar," the official said."The video is being circulated on social media and is being quoted out of context by vested interests. There is a Govt Resolution which defines a ghuskhor as an illegal occupant. There was no threat made, nor was any foul language used. There were provocative elements in the audience who had come with the motive to create a ruckus," the official said.Motilal Nagar residents also filed a written complaint at Goregaon police station against Jaiswal, demanding legal action by registering a case against him for creating religious hatred, threatening and illegal behaviour."Surrender Sarkar forcing citizens to surrender democratic rights! Clear proof that Maharashtra's bureaucracy works for Adani. This is the Mhada CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal threatening a resident of Motilal Nagar who was present with placards protesting the takeover of their land by Adani. It seems that once the project goes to Adani, citizens lose all democratic rights and can't protest! The surrender sarkar wants residents also to just surrender to Adani and has deployed bureaucrats to threaten citizens. Do citizens have no rights if the PM's friend comes into the picture? What autocracy is this?" Gaikwad said in a post on X."When the demands were made at the end of the meeting, Jalaluddin Kachhwa, a young man from Motilal Nagar, was quietly showing the demands placard in his hand. Jaiswal started threatening him, making insulting and racially offensive religious statements. He was accused of being a "Bangladeshi infiltrator" based on his religious identity (seeing his beard). Clear threats were made, such as show me your ID, if you are an intruder, I will see you. Police and security were ordered to forcibly detain him and snatch his ID card," the complaint said.