The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday afternoon began to demolish an “illegal” shakha (office) of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction in Bandra’s Nirmal Nagar. Mumbai police was deployed in the area to ensure there is no violence.
This comes three days after Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde gave approval to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe “irregularities” in various works previously undertaken by the BMC when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power (from November 2019 to June 2022) in the state.
A statement issued by the CM’s office late Monday night said that the SIT, headed by the Mumbai police commissioner, will investigate the irregularities worth Rs 12,024 crore in various works of the Mumbai civic body flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
India’s richest civic body is currently under an administrator and the term of its corporators ended early last year.
Shinde has also given directives to include top officials of the Mumbai police’s economic offences wing and other senior police officials in the probe, said the release.
The municipal corporation undertook several works during November 2019-June 2022, a period which also covered the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Mumbai Amit Satam had written a letter to Shinde claiming irregularities in various COVID-19-related works after the CAG submitted its audit report. Satam, in his letter, demanded an SIT probe into “irregularities” flagged by the CAG report.
Shiv Sena (UBT) had on Tuesday announced to organise a ‘maha morcha‘ outside the Mumbai municipal corporation on July 1. The demonstration will be held to protest “irregularities” in BMC’s functioning.
Addressing a press conference, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray alleged “loot” of public money in Mumbai and claimed money is being splurged in the name of organising events related to G20 and road concretization in the financial capital.
He attacked the Eknath Shinde-led government, saying there was no one to question them.Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hit back, saying, “It does not suit dacoits to talk about robbery” and claimed they (Shiv Sena-UBT) are scared because an SIT has been set up (to probe ‘irregularities’ in BMC when Thackeray-led MVA government was in office) and they are trying to mislead people.”
Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis also slammed the Shiv Sena (UBT) president, saying his discomfort is understandable as the SIT is going to expose an alleged gang in the BMC that was active with Thackeray’s blessings.
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