Mumbai, Sep 11 (IANS): The Maharashtra unit of Congress on Monday claimed that the upcoming special session of Parliament has been called with the agenda to"divide the country and separate Mumbai from Maharashtra".

State Congress president Nana Patole said that no agenda has been announced for the September 18-22 session so far.

“The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called this session without asking anybody, including the Opposition and the Parliamentary Affairs Committee. No such special sessions were called during the Covid-19 crises, demonetisation, the Manipur violence, then why now?" he asked

Patole also alleged that session is intended “to divide the country and push through the Modi government’s plans to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, and declared it a Union Territory”.

He pointed that Mumbai is a city of global importance, the country’s financial nerve-centre, the pride of the state and the nation, and the BJP has been eyeing it for the past nine years by systematically downgrading its importance.

“This has been going on for long… The Global Financial Centre has been taken to Gujarat, the diamond industry has been shifted there, the Air India headquarters was also moved out. Now, it is said there are plans to relocate the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange as part of the larger conspiracy to ‘secede Mumbai’ from Maharashtra."

Pataole also contended that all this was not possible during the rule of Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Shiv Sena (UBT)-Congress-Nationalist Congress Party, led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, which was the reason it was toppled with the help of the Centre and the then state Governor.

“However, ever since the government of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took office, many big-ticket projects of Mumbai and Maharashtra have been ‘hijacked’ to Gujarat. Neither Shinde nor the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have dared to oppose all this,” he said.

He said that if Shinde-Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar have the courage, they should question the Prime Minister for taking away all major projects, institutions and offices out of Mumbai to the detriment of the people of the city and the state.