The party has also slammed Shiv Sena for the alleged flip flop on the issue as mayor Kishori Pednekar has now said that Sena wanted to name the sports complex after Rani Laxmi Bai. (ANI) BHARATIYA JANATA Party (BJP) corporators have opposed naming of a sports complex in Malwani at Malad after Mysore king Tipu Sultan on Wednesday. The party has also slammed Shiv Sena for the alleged flip flop on the issue as mayor Kishori Pednekar has now said that Sena wanted to name the sports complex after Rani Laxmi Bai.
BJP corporators Prabhakar Shinde and Bhalchandra Shirsat held a press conference on Thursday where they cornered Sena over the issue. A day ago, Congress Minister Aslam Shaikh had inaugurated the sports complex named after Tipu Sultan. Bajarang Dal and BJP workers held a protest outside the ground demanding that the king’s name be removed. Shaikh had used his MLA fund for beautification of the ground.
Shirsat alleged that Tipu Sultan had killed Hindus and destroyed temples during his rule and giving his name to a public place will hurt sentiments. “Sena is saying that there was no formal approval to name the ground after Tipu Sultan, then how come the minister has named it after him? Also, now the question is whether the mayor is supporting the illegal naming of the ground,” he said.
The BJP has also raised doubts over Sena’s claim of then BJP corporators Ameet Satam and Vitthal Kharatmol supporting naming of two road stretches after Tipu Sultan in 2001 and 2013 respectively. Satam expressed doubt that the documents furnished by mayor Kishori Pednekar to corroborate the Sena’s claim were modified and his name was added. The documents pertained to the naming of a road in Andheri west and another in Govandi; both the proposals were allegedly approved without opposition.
Meanwhile, Pednekar maintained that no formal proposal has been approved in BMC for naming the ground after Tipu Sultan. Without commenting on whether Sena is opposing the king’s name, she said the party had demanded that the ground be named after Rani Laxmi Bai.
“There are documents that show that two BJP corporators in the past had supported proposals of naming roads in the city after Tipu Sultan. After 2019, suddenly BJP has started opposing Tipu Sultan’s name. The said ground does not belong to BMC and no proposal of naming was cleared in BMC,” Pednekar said.
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