NCP's Amol Mitkari objects to CM Fadnavis omitting Ajit Pawar's name in Missing Link credit

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Amol Mitkar objected to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for not mentioning former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's contribution to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway's Missing Link project during his statement in the Assembly.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Mitkari thanked CM Fadnavis for giving an "on-record reply" to the opposition over the Missing Link project and for "effectively silencing them."

However, he objected to Fadnavis crediting himself and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde for the project while omitting Ajit Pawar's name, who died in a tragic plane crash in Baramati in January this year.


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"Respected Fadnavis ji, first of all, heartfelt thanks to you for giving those on-record, resounding replies in the House today to the opposition folks who were just blabbering away about the Missing Link (Connecting Link), and for shutting their mouths. Just as your contribution and that of Eknath Shinde saheb in building the Missing Link project cannot be denied, similarly, it is unacceptable to deny the respected Ajitdada, who has been honestly working in the alliance government by putting his shoulder to your shoulder in raising this Missing Link project, " the post said.

He argued that Pawar's role in taking the project forward "cannot be overlooked" and questioned how Fadnavis could forget it so soon. Mitkari stated that the omission has hurt people in Maharashtra who see Pawar as one of the architects of the state's infrastructure push.

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"How can you forget dada so quickly? Was there really no contribution from him in this? If dada had been remembered in the House today, we would have remained forever bowed at your feet But that didn't happen. You used to consider respected dada a friend, right? Then how could such forgetfulness happen? The pain of you forgetting dada in the House today has gone deep into the heart of Maharashtra, striking a wound," the post added.

The NCP leader requested the Chief Minister to name the Missing Link project after Pawar. He said that would be a way to honour both Pawar's contribution and his long-standing association with Fadnavis.

"We have one humble request: by naming this Missing Link after the people's leader Ajitdada, please correct the mistake that occurred in forgetting your friendship with dada--meaning, let the name of Ajitdada, who was missed from the Missing Link, remain forever in memory," the post stated.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link Project is a Rs 6,695-crore infrastructure initiative aimed at easing congestion and improving safety on one of India's busiest highways. The existing 19-km ghat section between the Khopoli exit and Sinhgad Institute carries combined traffic from the six-lane expressway and four-lane NH-4, leading to bottlenecks, landslides, and accidents.

The new 13.3-km alignment between the Khopoli exit and Kusgaon, which became operational about two months ago, shortens the expressway by 6 km and reduces travel time by 20-25 minutes.

The project includes 10.55 km of tunnels, including an 8.87-km tunnel and one of the world's widest road tunnels at 23.5 metres, as well as two major viaducts, including a 184-metre-high cable-stayed bridge.

The Missing Link Project was conceived to eliminate a major bottleneck in the Khopoli-Lonavala ghat section, where the six-lane Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the four-lane NH-4 currently share the same alignment.