MUMBAI, June 1 -- Following the decision of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to scrap the controversial tender process for the Thane-Ghodbunder-to-Bhayandar twin tunnels and elevated road projects, opposition parties targeted deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who has been heading the urban development department that governs MMRDA. Pointing out that he was first to raise the issue of the controversial tender process, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday demanded the removal of Shinde from the state cabinet and a probe by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the entire episode. In July last year, MMRDA had issued a notice, inviting tenders for the two public infrastructure projects. Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which was the lowest bidder, recently approached the Supreme Court saying that MMRDA had arbitrarily declared the Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) as the lowest bidder for both the projects, despite its bid being higher than L&T's. The Supreme Court raised questions on the process, and on Friday, MMRDA told the court that the tender has been scrapped, and new tenders would be floated for these projects. "With MMRDA scrapping the tender, it has been confirmed that there were irregularities, and the project was pushed ahead with an eye on the assembly elections," said Thackeray. The Worli MLA said that MMRDA, under Shinde, had floated a short-duration tender of only 20 days. "This was done when Shinde was the chief minister and also the urban development minister," he said. "There was an irregularity at every step of the tender process. This was not possible unless approved by those who were handling the department. Therefore, Shinde should be removed from the position immediately," he added. Thackeray also said that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis kept claiming from time to time that he was giving Maharashtra a clean administration. "If Fadnavis is serious, there should be a probe of the tender issue by the EOW or ED," he said. "As Shinde is involved in the matter, he should be removed from the post of deputy CM and cabinet minister to ensure a transparent probe." Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal alleged that the controversial tender was a Rs.3,000-crore scam. "MMRDA has cancelled the tender but the matter does not end here," he said. "This is a matter of deep-rooted corruption."...