Nagpur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has defended the proposal to name Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"There is no controversy over naming the sea link since Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai and spent his days there. Naming the project was decided only when it was completed," he told reporters in an informal chat in Nagpur.
The Congress leader said Union Minister and NCP President Sharad Pawar indeed proposed the name of Rajiv and there was nothing wrong in it.
On Shiv Sena-BJP alliance's opposition to Rajiv's name and demand for christening the mega marvel after Veer Savarkar, Chavan said there was no such proposal before his government.
"If it was conceived during saffron regime then why they did not complete it?" the CM asked.
On the ensuing Assembly elections, Chavan said the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has chalked out a programme and has begun the preparations. PCC has set up about half a dozen committees to prepare for the elections.
About pre-poll alliance with NCP, Chavan said it is up to the central leadership of the party to decide.
He declined to comment on his predecessor Vilasrao Deshmukh's remarks that Congress should fight the polls alone, and also on NCP demand for forging alliance within 15 days.