Bal Thackeray bill gets nod amid low Shiv Sena count

Mumbai: In a very surprising move, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government on Tuesday approved a bill in the Assembly, paving way for the memorial to late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in the presence of only two Sena MLAs, Rajabhau Vaze from Sinnar and Chandrakant Sonavane from Chopda.

Minister of state for urban development Ranjit Patil presented the bill before the House late in the evening. The bill will allow amendment in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, as the memorial will be built in the mayor’s bungalow.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dilip Walse-Patil was quick to point out that the bill was being presented in absence of Sena ministers. Another NCP leader Jayant Patil did not let go of an opportunity to take pot shots at the Shiv Sena and BJP, which had raised serious allegations against one another during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls a few days back. “You (BJP) wanted to control Mumbai but have capitulated to the Sena. The BJP has unilaterally given the city to the Sena after shouting about transparency. How will appointing an Upalokayukta for Mumbai bring transparency?” Mr Patil said.

Taking a dig at BJP, Jayant Patil said that the bill was deliberately presented late in the evening when the Sena ministers were absent. “The BJP took many goons into its fold to defeat Sena, but in vein. Now they have not even taken Sena into consideration before presenting the bill,” he said.

The NCP leader supported the bill and said the memorial should be completed in a stipulated period. He even said that the mayor should be given another bungalow as the memorial would be housed in his bungalow.

BJP MLA Raj Purohit supported the bill and spoke in favour of the memorial. Nr Vaze welcomed the bill while MNS MLA Sharad Sonawane also supported the proposal, after which it was approved.