"Adding insult to injury": Fadnavis hits out at Wadettiwar amid row over latter's remarks on Pahalgam terror attack

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 28 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday hit out at senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar over the latter's "do terrorists have time to ask for religion" remarks and said that such statements "add insult to injury" for the family members of the victims, who were killed in Pahalgam terror attack.
"Such statements add insult to injury for those who have lost their relatives. We all have seen what the family members of the victims have said. They were killed before them, and they have said this," Fadnavis told reporters here.
His reaction comes after Waddetiwar on Monday questioned the version of the victims, who had said that the terrorists asked them their religion before opening fire.
Speaking about the upcoming bullet train project, the Maharashtra CM stated that the work on it was likely to be completed by the end of 2028. He said that the delay in the project happened as the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government decided to halt it.
"The works for the bullet train could be completed by the end of 2028, as it was being carried out rapidly. The bullet train works were delayed for 2.5 years due to the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, as they had made a decision to halt them. However, with the new government coming to power, we have approved permission for the bullet train. We hope to finish it within the new timeline," Fadnavis said.
When asked about the handling of Pakistani nationals in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said that the state administration had identified those who were expected to leave India and was tracking their activities.
"The exact number will be announced by the police department soon. However, the Pakistani nationals who are expected to leave India, as per the directions of the central government, have been identified and contacted, and their activities are being traced. We have managed to find each one of them," he said.
Fadnavis was responding to queries regarding Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's statement, where he claimed that some Pakistani nationals were missing in the state. However, Fadnavis clarified that "all of them have been identified."
"Those with a long-term visa have no reason to leave India. However, those on short-term visas were expected to leave India," Fadnavis added.
Speaking about the recent fire at the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Ballard Estate area, the CM said, "Each paper is safe in the ED office. Nothing has been affected."
Meanwhile, Mumbai Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar told ANI that there was a level 3 fire, and extinguishing the flames took time and was challenging due to the heavy smoke.
Ambulgekar said, "Furniture, computers and many important government files were destroyed in the fire." (ANI)