THE BOMBAY High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Samiti, a trust headed by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, which seeks to own, construct and operate a memorial for Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.
Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N M Jamdar were hearing two petitions filed by activist Bhagwanji Rayani and NGO Jan Mukti Morcha, respectively, challenging the state’s decision of converting the mayor’s bungalow at Shivaji Park, Dadar into a memorial for Bal Thackeray in April 2017 .
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the memorial will be constructed at the location of the mayor’s bungalow in November 2015.
A committee led by then chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya was constituted to look into sites for the memorial. After a preliminary study, the committee gave the nod for the bungalow as a suitable site. Besides Uddhav, the Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Samiti has members such as Sena leader and Industries Minister Subhash Desai, BJP MP Poonam Mahajan, Sena youth wing president Aaditya Thackeray and state officials among others.
Lawyers Pradeep Havnur and Uday Warunjikar, appearing for the petitioners, told the court that the government has allocated Rs 100 crore for the memorial. “It is not a small amount, it could be used for other important issues in the state. There is already one memorial, then why do they want to build another one,” Havnur said. Warunjikar told the court that the entire machinery was being mobilised for a private individual. He added that if the Thackeray trust is a government body, then how can a private person be made permanent member of the trust.
Senior counsel Milind Sathe, representing the state, said that if a person deserves a memorial or statue, it is up to the state government to decide. It is the state’s decision to build the memorial and such a decision cannot be questioned before the judiciary, he argued.
