Mumbai: The workplace arrange by Mumbai (suburbs) Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a BJP member, within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Company (BMC) constructing has the Opposition in Maharashtra up in arms.
Not solely is the workplace itself controversial — he’s the primary minister in 75 years to have an workplace within the BMC constructing — Lodha has triggered additional uproar by assigning the house to former BJP corporators to satisfy the general public and tackle their grievances.
There are not any lively corporators within the BMC proper now as the time period of the final physique lapsed in March 2022, and elections stay pending. The BMC is at the moment run by an administrator appointed by the state authorities, Iqbal Singh Chahal.
The minister’s transfer comes at a time when no different social gathering has workplace house within the BMC constructing — the 5 social gathering places of work that existed (Shiv Sena, Congress, BJP, NCP, and Samajwadi Get together) had been sealed by the BMC following a scuffle between the 2 rival factions of the Shiv Sena in December 2022.
Lodha has defended the transfer as one meant for public outreach.
In a tweet, he stated they “will sit right here and clear up folks’s issues quicker”.
“This isn’t a authorities that sits at residence and is run by way of social media,” he added.
Nonetheless, former state minister and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA Aaditya Thackeray stated it was a “dictatorial” bid to seize the BMC.
“It’s a dictatorial approach of capturing Mumbai and BMC, which they by no means will in a free, honest, democratic approach,” Thackeray informed ThePrint.
Noting that polls to the civic physique are within the offing, the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Get together (NCP) have additionally questioned why Lodha wanted an workplace within the BMC constructing when Mantralaya, the state secretariat, is 2km away.
Congress chief Ravi Raja, former chief of opposition within the civic physique, informed ThePrint that the “BMC administrator is appearing in opposition to the principles of the BMC Act, which state that solely elected corporators can have workplace house”.
ThePrint has mailed Chahal for a touch upon the matter.
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BJP MLA defends transfer
The guardian minister’s workplace was inaugurated final week, and thrown open to the general public Monday.
A weekly roster has been ready for the BJP’s 72 former corporators to go to the headquarters in two slots — 11am to 2pm and 2pm to 6pm — from Mondays to Fridays. They’ll sit in Lodha’s workplace. The minister, in the meantime, will likely be on this workplace thrice per week, 4pm to 6pm.
Talking to the media on the Vidhan Bhavan, BJP MLA Amit Satam welcomed the choice.
“All Mumbaikars are welcome on this workplace. Whether or not they’re a typical citizen or public consultant, anybody who needs to get their work finished by way of the guardian minister can go to the workplace,” he added.
He additionally sought to defend the workplace house assigned for former BJP corporators. “If the guardian minister is busy within the meeting and he has appointed some folks to take care of the folks, I don’t suppose there’s any problem or something mistaken.”
In a tweet, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) spokesperson Clyde Crasto shared the roster and stated the transfer “proves that organising workplace of guardian minister Mr Lodha was a deliberate technique to convey again ex-corporators” of the Mumbai BJP to the BMC head workplace.
“With places of work of different political events shut as a result of the time period of corporators has ended, the BJP will now slowly run BMC alone,” he added.
Thackeray stated this was an assault on the federal construction.
“I’ve had lots of of conferences as a minister with the BMC, however it was at all times with due respect to the establishment and with the permission of the mayor. That is principally a hostile takeover or a builder-like encroachment of the BMC,” he added.
He stated Lodha — whose household runs an actual property enterprise — and the BJP “most likely wanted to be near the BMC, to bully officers, to go his personal constructing proposal recordsdata”.
Raja stated the BMC’s autonomy was being challenged. “When our places of work are closed, why do former BJP corporators have an area to function from throughout the BMC?” he added.
“Moreover, the Mantralaya is simply 10 minutes from the BMC, so why does he [Lodha] want one other workplace? Even earlier than this there have been guardian ministers,” he stated. “This has been finished to abolish the rights of your entire company.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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