The controversy over the separate office space allotted to Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters, which began with Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray’s objection in the Maharashtra Assembly, continues to rage.
Lodha has started to meet citizens, along with former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporators, to resolve civic issues, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has claimed. The BJP corporators have been asked to sit in the first-floor office in two shifts daily, so they can attend to the citizens visiting Lodha’s office with their problems, they alleged. Lodha, meanwhile, will be sitting in the office thrice a week from 4 pm to 6 pm and will also interact with the citizens.
Now encroachments have moved into @mybmc HQ, hoping to probably name it “Casa BMC” or something like a builder’s advert. This is a shameless attack on the BMC’s independence as a local self government. If this is allowed, each of us as Mumbai MLAs should be given a cabin there,… pic.twitter.com/biNHvX5QcO
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 21, 2023
Thackeray told News18: “They want to destroy all systems in our federal structure. We are already pretending to be a democracy that we no longer are, and now they are infringing upon the civil services structure as well. To have former BJP corporators sit in the guardian minister’s office is a ploy. The real reason is for the guardian minister to closely monitor and bully the officers, to get his files passed for builders.”
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto tweeted the alleged list of former BJP corporators who have been assigned the duty to sit in the office space allotted to Lodha. “This list proves that setting up office of guardian minister Mr.Lodha was a planned strategy to bring back ex-corporators of BJP4Mumbai to @mybmc head office. With offices of other political parties shut because term of corporators has ended, BJP will now slowly run BMC alone.”
This list proves that setting up office of guardian minister Mr.Lodha was a planned strategy to bring back ex-corporators of @BJP4Mumbai to @mybmc head office.With offices of other political parties shut because term of corporators has ended, BJP will now slyly run BMC alone. pic.twitter.com/q59mAfwJcN— Clyde Crasto – क्लाईड क्रास्टो (@Clyde_Crasto) July 24, 2023
Currently, BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal is in-charge of the Mumbai civic body as an administrator, as no election had been conducted after the BMC house was dissolved last year. Consequently, all party offices in the BMC headquarters have been locked and the movement of former corporators has reduced.
However, in view of the upcoming Mumbai municipal elections which may be announced anytime, the BJP wants doesn’t want to lose out on the opportunity to reach out to Mumbaiites, which is why the office is being used, say experts.
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