Maharashtra polls: Khan seeks resolution for housing land issues

Maharashtra Congresss working president Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan said that the voters will not polarise based on caste or religion in Maharashtras November 20 Assembly elections Khans narrow 409vote loss in Chandivlis 2019 Assembly elections continues to be one of the mosttalkedabout electoral events The former guardian minister of Mumbai Suburban district and All India Congress Working Committee member spoke with midday about his constituency the capital city of Maharashtra and the rest of the stateExcerpts from the interviewSo far you have won four times and lost once What will be your and the partys priorities for Mumbai as part of the governmentI won first in 1999 and was an MLA till 2019 In 20 years I was a minister except for two years I have worked with four CMs I lost in 2019 by a whisker but I did not detach myself from the constituency I lost because I could not give much time as I was busy as a star campaigner across the state I think my loss was a shock for the voters as well I have worked across communities Apart from focusing on providing basic amenities and development of infrastructure I played a significant role in bringing Metro1 constructing JVLR and Saki Vihar Road making the Centre Union government build a base for National Security Guards NSG in the city after the 2611 terror attacksOne of my top priorities is to provide land ownership rights deemed conveyance to the housing societies that are built on government land MMRDA and MHADA land People in Powais Hiranandani project which is built on MMRDA land or others built on MHADA land own only structures not the land Such issues are everywhere in the city and suburbs The residents will face serious problems in the future I want the government to intervene to make a policy to resolve this issuePending slum redevelopment across the city needs to be expedited Traffic management has gone for a toss I will propose that parking lots be constructed under the recreationplaygrounds Thus the recreation and playgrounds will retain their original status and also help resolve the parking problem to a great extent Making Mumbai pollutionfree is another priorityMy agenda is to make Chandivli and the rest of Mumbai drugfree I know the citys problems very well because I have worked as the suburban districts guardian minister and minister of state for home urban I insist that what the Mahayuti government has done so far was taking forward the projects that were startedproposed by the Congress government MTHL Coastal Road Metro3 and other metro lines Sea Link etc all are our projectsWill the BJPs Ek hai toh safe hai poll pitch make any difference to your candidature and other segments the MVA is contestingNot at all I welcome the PMs slogan In fact ek hai toh is the Congress ideology We have always believed that unity makes the nation stronger And if they are talking about love and vote jihad and batenge to katenge its all election propaganda People will not fall for itTake the example of my constituency that has been electing me Here we have Hindus Muslims Christians Jains and others in good numbers It is the citys biggest constituency in terms of number of voters This constituency has never treated me as the leader of a specific community If it was so they wouldnt have reelected meI have built a record number of temples here The Muslim community has donated to build one of the temples I have ensured that my constituency has one of the best Ganesh visarjan facilities So I believe very strongly that the people will continue to treat me as their own and elect me once again with a good marginWhy are you so confidentYes Im very much confident because BJPMahayuti has failed in the past two years The people have given their verdict in Lok Sabha and they will repeat it in the Assembly polls The ruling party is doing politics of polarisation instead of development Maharashtra will not polarise based on caste and religion The people are affected a great deal by rising inflation unemployment and corruption