17 November,2022 08:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra Jore
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis at the under-construction memorial to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mill, Dadar, on Wednesday
Wednesday turned out to be a day of memorial politics for the heads of the government, ahead of the upcoming local body polls, including election to the Mumbai's municipal corporation. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis visited various memorials in the city, including the under-construction memorial to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mill and the makeshift memorial to the late Balasaheb Thackeray at Shivaji Park, in Dadar.
"The work is 50 per cent complete and we plan to open the first phase of it for public before March 2023," said Shinde, after reviewing the progress of Dr Ambedkar memorial. Later in the day, they attended a public programme at Savarkar memorial. Shinde also visited Dr Ambedkar's residence in Hindu Colony, which is now a museum. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar hosted the chief minister at his residential quarters on the upper floor.
Also read: Dr BR Ambedkar's Mumbai home will be preserved as heritage: CM Shinde
The meeting holds significance amid talks that the VBA will join hands with the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the next polls. Prakash denied that it was a political meeting and made it clear that he will never form a pact with the BJP. The followers of Dr Ambedkar are crucial in the BMC polls, so are the Shiv Sena workers who support Shinde. Both the BJP and the Shinde Sena need additional votes, with many others, including the Thackeray Sena, staking claim to Hindu and Muslim votes.
The visit to the makeshift Thackeray memorial a day before the Sena founder's 10th death anniversary was to avoid possible clash with the Uddhav Thackeray Sena, who will be thronging the Shivaji Park site on Thursday.
Shinde and Fadnavis reviewed the progress of a permanent memorial being planned at the mayor's bungalow in Dadar. Uddhav, who leads the memorial committee, had invited suggestions a week ago. He had also convened a meeting and media conference on the progress of the project. While the state government is funding the project, the trust - comprising mostly Thackeray Sena leaders - has been entrusted with the task of design and execution.
Responding to a BJP legislator's demand that the Thackeray memorial be handed over to the government instead of keeping a trust as its in-charge agency, Fadnavis said they were not interested in the people in the memorial committee, but was concerned about dedicating the project to the people at the earliest. "It is for the people. When I was the CM, we made a law to hand over the site for the memorial, which will be completed under the leadership of CM Shinde," said Fadnavis. Shinde said the memorial was a source of inspiration for the Sena workers and he would ensure that it's completed as soon as possible.
