MUMBAI: The launch of Central Railway ’s first AC train on Thursday started with a political spat as Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant criticised the Union railway ministry for not mentioning the name of Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar and a few guardian ministers and MPs like him in event ads and also on the stage banner.Sawant, invited to speak first after the flagging off of the Panvel-Thane AC local, said, “Do not take us (Sena) for granted. If somebody does good work, we appreciate, but this is uncalled for.” Sawant said this was not the first time the mayor or MP were not being respected. “In the past, during inauguration of Elphinstone Road FOB, I was invited. But I did not see my name though I was a local MP who had fought for interests of commuters.” He said “Yeh jo tareeka hai, yeh sirf Mumbai mein hain… Bahar karne ki himmat bhi nahi hogi... UP mein karenge kya? Saansad jeene nahi dega (This kind of thing is done only in Mumbai, will they dare do this elsewhere, like in UP… local MP won’t spare them).”Chief guest for the launch was junior minister for railways, BJP’s Suresh Angadi, who quietly heard Sawant’s comments. BJP MP (Mumbai North-East) Manoj Kotak, who was present on stage, later told mediapersons it was a “credit war” launched by the Sena MP. Sawant however clarified, “We are not the sort of people who will only criticise --one who is good will be appreciated. I also want to mention here that the minister is a gentleman and he should ensure such things dont recur.” City guardian minister Aslam Shaikh (Congress) and Raigad guardian minister Aditi Tatkare (NCP) were present. Shaikh said there should be no fare hike with AC trains coming in.Sawant criticised railways for having “multiple inaugurations” of 12 FOBs, wifi, toilets, etc at a single event at CSMT (with a video launch). “Why can’t you ask MPs or MLAs to launch these in their areas?” he said. In his reply, Angadi apologised and directed railway officials to ensure protocol next time. “Be it MP, minister or mayor, everybody is people’s representative and should be respected and mentioned at such events,” he said. Angadi said railways will invest Rs 50 lakh crore in ten years and added the bullet train was the PM’s dream and will come true. “We expect the Maharashtra government to cooperate in this,” he said.