Overview
- Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pledged to use an AI tool developed with IIT to identify Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants as part of the ruling alliance’s civic-poll manifesto.
- Senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya claimed 224,000 allegedly fake birth certificates of Bangladeshi nationals were canceled and said a statewide identification drive will follow the local elections.
- The Maharashtra Congress, citing Fadnavis’s claim that the state has identified the most illegal migrants, urged the government to release the underlying figures.
- Sachin Sawant of the Congress criticized Fadnavis over past unfulfilled promises and questioned timelines for major Mumbai infrastructure pledges.
- Somaiya also targeted opposition leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while offering no evidence for broader allegations reported in his remarks.