'Release the figures': Fadnavis's 'AI to oust Bangladeshi, Rohingya migrants' promise sparks political showdown with Congress

The Maharashtra Congress urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Bharatiya Janata Party to reveal figures of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants in the state. Congress's comments come after Fadnavis said they would use AI to identify illegal migrants in the state. 

The Congress party urged Fadnavis to make illegal migration figures public after he claimed the maximum number of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants have been identified in the state. In a statement, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, "If the government has indeed identified the highest number, it should release the figures."

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis unveiled the manifesto of the ruling Mahayuti alliance for the upcoming Mumbai civic polls. In the event, Fadnavis said, "We will free Mumbai of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. With the help of IIT, we will develop an AI tool to identify Bangladeshi migrants." The chief minister also promised a "flood-free Mumbai" within five years by adopting Japanese techniques and collaborating with institutions such as IIT and VJTI for measures.

Congress charged Fadnavis was a "merchant of dreams", who showcases a golden future while ignoring the grim realities of the present. "The CM's interviews focus largely on future plans, with little explanation about the fate of past promises," he claimed. 

Targeting Fadnavis over incompleted projects, Sawant said, "The Eastern Freeway was supposed to be connected to Thane in 2017, while Mumbai was assured of becoming flood-free the same year. Both commitments remain unfulfilled. The deadlines announced by the CM are rarely met. The popular phrase 'tareekh pe tareekh' (date after date) appears to have become symbolic of the government's functioning."