As the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link waits to get inaugurated at the hands of Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, the Bhartiya Janata Party has stake its claim over the first-of-its-kind bridge in the country. Moreover, BJP has asked the Congress, which works for “aam admi”, to forego the toll charges since there has been a delay of 10 years in completion of the project.

Initially, the sea link was estimated to cost of Rs 450 crore but has now been completed at the cost of Rs 1,600 crore. Not willing to let the Congress-led government walk away with credit for the sea link, BJP city unit leader Gopal Shetty set up hoardings across the city to congratulate BJP state president Nitin Gadkari for initiating the project during the BJP-Sena government in 1995-99. Gadkari was the minister for public works when the project was initiated during the saffron combine rule.

Shetty claimed that when Gadkari laid the foundation stone for the sea link in 1999, it was supposed to be completed in three-and-a-half years. However, it has taken over a decade to complete the bridge. Shetty has questioned why Mumbaikars should pay for the additional project cost incurred in the delayed completion of the project. He said that the Congress has already put additional project cost burden on public exchequer and now is going to take toll charges.