Lashing out at the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-BJP dispensation in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) has gone on full throttle ahead of the July 1 mega mocha outside the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in the financial capital.
The morcha is being held in the backdrop of Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the affairs of the BMC when Thackeray was the Chief Minister, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into the alleged scam involving setting up of jumbo field hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the razing of an illegal ‘shakha’ of Shiv Sena (UBT) at Nirmal Nagar in Bandra, which is near to the bungalow of Thackeray.
Yuva Sena chief and Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray is slated to lead the foot march at the BMC headquarters in south Mumbai.
“There is an absolute vacuum of political and administrative leadership to hear the woes of Mumbaikars. Besides, it is riddled with corruption,” said Aaditya, who was a minister in the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
As far as the BMC’s razing of the Nirmal Nagar shakha is concerned, Thackeray-family aide and party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the orders came from Varsha, the official residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister. “The Chief Minister’s son (Dr Shrikant Shinde, who is Kalyan MP) ordered it,” he said.
The Mumbai Police have booked close Thackeray-family aide and MLA Anil Parab, a former minister, for the alleged assault on officials at BMC’s H-East ward office at Santacruz to protest the demolition of a party office. Four party workers Sada Parab, Haji Alim, Uday Dalvi and Santosh Kadam were arrested in this connection by the Vakola police.
Meanwhile, the ED is continuing its investigations into Suraj Chavan, an aide of the junior Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son Dr Shrikant has accused the Thackerays of corruption. “Thackeray's 15 years made BMC become the most corrupt body in Asia,” he said.
He further questioned BMC for acquiring body bags during the pandemic at Rs 6,719 whereas the same body bags were bought for Rs 350 by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). "How is it possible that TMC buys dead body bags at Rs 350 per bag and BMC buys those bags at more than Rs 6,500 per bag? This is just one of the many instances of how the Thackeray family has looted Mumbaikars when people were dying," the junior Shinde said.
It may be mentioned that last week, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government set up an SIT to probe the alleged irregularities into the BMC when Thackeray was Chief Minister between 28 November, 2019 till June 29, 2022. Before that, the government had asked the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for a special audit of 76 identified works, costing Rs 12,023.88 crore, as executed by nine departments of BMC.
The five-year term of the BMC’s 227-member general body elected in 2017 ended on 7 March, 2022 and elections have been due for more than a year. However, in between, the Shiv Sena had vertically split in June 2022.
The BMC is being run by Municipal Commissioner Dr Iqbal Singh Chahal, who was appointed the Administrator. The Shiv Sena founded by Balasaheb Thackeray had controlled the BMC for a quarter of a century.
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