Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu upset with Maha govt for taking away his red beacon

Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu has asked the Maharashtra government to rethink its decision of "taking away" the "traditional rights" to use a red beacon by the mayor.

Prabhu, in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, said that the mayor's position was a legislative post which should be respected.

"I have written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister (Prithviraj Chavan) and conveyed my grievances to him. I have also told him how the traditional rights of the mayor are being taken away," he told reporters here today.

Prabhu, who is also a Shiv Sena politician, said that it does not matter who the mayor of the city is, and what really matters, is that the mayor's position is a legislative post, which should be respected.

"If ministers of state and the principal secretary can be allowed to move in a car with a red beacon, then why is the mayor not allowed to use one? The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has a sanctity of its own, and the mayor holds power equivalent to a principal secretary. That is why the Mayor of Mumbai should be allowed to use a red beacon," he said.

Prabhu, who is the 74th mayor of the city of Mumbai said that he sincerely hoped that his feelings would be taken into account by the government of Maharashtra and he believed that the government would rethink its decision to uphold the "traditional rights" of the mayor.

Last year, the Supreme Court had come down heavily on the rampant misuse of beacons by those in power and directed authorities to ensure that even those holding constitutional positions used beacons on vehicles only when they are on duty.