Mumbai: Tangled in BMC, Uddhav Thackeray candidate moves HC

Rutuja Latke could not meet BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal on Wednesday even after waiting for two hours. PIC/PRADEEP DHIVAR

Rutuja Latke, the candidate picked by Uddhav Thackeray to represent his party in the Andheri East bypoll, has been caught in a bureaucratic tangle, with the BMC sitting on her resignation letter. October 14 being the last for filing the nomination, Latke on Wednesday approached the Bombay High Court to force the civic body to take a call, in a move reminiscent of Uddhav's recent fight for Shivaji Park.

Being a BMC employee, Latke has to quit to be eligible to contest the November 3 Andheri East Assembly bypoll, which was necessitated after her MLA husband Ramesh Latke died of a heart attack in May.

After waiting for two hours to meet BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal, Latke along with ex-mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, former deputy mayor Hemangi Worlikar and ex-corporator Anant Nar returned empty-handed without any clarity on her resignation.

Mahadeshwar told the media, "There is political pressure on the BMC to not accept the resignation. The commissioner is the administrative officer and he should take decisions without any pressure. The gaddars [traitors] are doing everything. In such a case how can democracy prevail?"

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Latke said she never met Eknath Shinde or any other member associated with him. "I will contest on mashaal [flaming torch]," she said. The symbol belongs to the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

A BMC official said Latke, an executive assistant clerk, resigned last month with the condition that her resignation should be accepted after the bypoll. "As per rules, there should not be any condition with the resignation. The corporation informed her so. So she resigned last week. We are working on it. It will need NOCs from various departments to ascertain there are no cases or complaints against her or any pending dues. It is a regular process. We cannot say when the resignation will get accepted," said the official.

"The work is in progress. Rules permit [us] to decide in 30 days. She applied on October 3 evening. There is no question of any government pressure," said BMC chief Chahal.

Anil Parab, an Uddhav aide and former minister, said Latke resigned on September 2 but the BMC communicated after one month that her resignation cannot be accepted and she again resigned on October 3 with a new format. "The resignation would have been accepted at the joint commissioner level but despite various meetings, the BMC has not decided anything yet. Now, we will approach the high court," said Parab.

Later in the day, Latke filed a petition in the HC.

Last month, the Uddhav Thackeray faction went to the high court after the BMC sat on its application to hold its Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park. As it allowed Uddhav to use the Dadar ground, the high court rapped the BMC saying the corporation had abused its powers.