In a major jolt to the Shiv Sena, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation rejected the applications of both Uddhav Thackeray-led and the rival and present Chief Minister Eknath Shinde factions for holding the traditional Dasara rally at Shivaji Park on October 5.
The permission was denied on the basis of possible law and order concerns raised by the Mumbai police. Letters were also sent to both the factions conveying about permission being denied for their rally.
“While both the rival applicants have applied for permission to hold the Dasara rally at the Shivaji Maharaj Park Maidan, if any one of the applicants is granted permission to hold the rally, this may create a serious problem of law and order in the sensitive area of Shivaji Park,” remarks mentioned in the BMC’s letters sent to both the factions. The letters were signed by the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of BMC's zone-2.
After receiving applications from Uddhav Thackeray’s faction and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s camp, the BMC sought legal opinion as well as feedback from the police.
According to the officials, the police in their feedback said that permission for the rally to any of the two factions could lead to a serious problem of law and order in the sensitive Shivaji Park area.
On Wednesday, the Thackeray camp knocked on the doors of the Bombay High Court seeking directions to the BMC to forthwith grant it permission for the Dasara rally, as it suspected that the Chief Minister would use his office to get the application rejected, as he too "eyes" to address the "real" Shiv Sainiks at Shivaji Park. The Division Bench of Justices R.D. Dhanuka and Kamal Khata posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.
The Shinde camp is, at the moment, sitting on a comfortable pedestal, having already received permission for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) exhibition grounds at the Bandra Kurla Complex. Earlier, the Shinde group’s spokesperson and former MLC Kiran Pawaskar said that the MMRDA ground would be used for car parking during the rally, while they continue to strive for permission to hold the rally at Shivaji Park.
It was on August 22, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Anil Desai of the Thackeray’s Sena applied for permission to hold the rally at Shivaji Park. Later, on August 30, Shinde camp’s MLA Sada Sarvankar also applied for permission at the same venue for the same day (October 5).
Meanwhile, MLA Sada Sarvankar filed an application in the Bombay High Court on Thursday, seeking the court to not hear or decide the Thackeray-led Sena's petition for permission to hold their annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park.
With both the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions staking claim to the “real” Shiv Sena and the annual Dasara rally at Shivaji Park was seen as the decider.
