Mumbai: BJP demands apology from MVA govt for 'beautifying' Yakub Memon's grave

The grave had been decorated with marble slabs and there were LED lights on it. Pic/Social media

The grave of 1993 serial bomb blasts convict, Yakub Memon at the city's Bada Kabrasthan raised a political storm on Thursday, after attempts to turn it into a memorial came to light. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed the previous government for allowing the activity and demanded an apology from former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, while the opposition accused the ruling party of digging up communal matters to divert attention from real issues.

It is learnt that instead of removing the mortal remains within a stipulated time of 18 months for facilitating another burial, the remains have been preserved in the grave which has been fitted with marble slabs and LED lights, turning it into a memorial for the person who was hanged for the grave offence in July 2015. The BJP claimed that the beautification happened during the pandemic and demanded a probe, which was ordered immediately by Deputy CM and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday.

A deputy commissioner of police will investigate who is behind the act and when it was done. The city police removed the LED lights that were installed as part of the beautification. High mast halogen lights that were installed in March this year will also be removed, said sources.

Also read: What Yakub Memon did in the last few hours before his hanging

The blame game

BJP's state President Chandrashekhar Bawankule blamed the erstwhile Thackeray government for making the beautification possible against the norms. He demanded Thackeray's apology for allowing the glorification of a person who was part of a terror activity that killed hundreds of people. Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar alleged the role of former minister Aaditya Thackeray and Aslam Sheikh in the act. He said Sheikh had demanded that Memon be saved from hanging.

"Has the Penguin Sena taken up the Save the Grave mission?" asked Shelar. "When they were in power, we witnessed how the then ruling Shiv Sena was a strong supporter of underworld don Dawood. And now when they are in the Opposition, have they taken up the job of being a campaigner of Dawood?"

He added that it was Dawood who had, with the help of his aides in Pakistan, tried to spread terror through series of bomb blasts. "How did the Uddhav Thackeray grant permission for the beautification of the grave of Yakub Memon, a prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts?" he asked further, adding that the beautification, repairs and regular maintenance of playgrounds, gardens and cemeteries is the responsibility of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Power matters

Reacting to the accusations, Aaditya Thackeray said it has been turned into a political issue ahead of the BMC polls. He questioned the need of handing over Memon's body to his family and allowing a grand procession before the last rites. "Why didn't they do it the way Americans did with Osama bin Laden? Who was in power then? Who was the CM then? Is the BJP angry with its own people, the then CM?" he asked, adding that though his party shared power with the BJP then, it didn't have much say in such matters.

State Congress chief spokesperson, Atul Londhe said the BJP was deliberate in giving importance to communal issues. He also questioned the handing over of the body to the family. "The body of a terrorist cannot be given to the family. After the Congress government hanged terrorists Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab, they were buried in unknown locations. The Congress has taken due precautions so that the terrorists are not glorified." He said even BJP MPs Shatrughan Sinha and Varun Gandhi had written letters against Memon's hanging.