Mumbai civic body denies nod to Uddhav Thackeray, Eknath Shinde for Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park
The permission was denied on the basis of law and order concerns raised by the Mumbai Police.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Thursday denied permission to both factions of the Shiv Sena to hold a Dussehra rally in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park citing law and order issues raised by the police, The Times of India reported.
The Dussehra rally has been one of the important annual events for the Shiv Sena since the party was founded in 1966, according to The Indian Express. Factions of Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray had sought permission to celebrate the rally at Shivaji Park.
The Shiv Sena was split into two factions after Shinde, along with 30 party MLAs, had rebelled against the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in June. Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30 with Bharatiya Janata Party’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
A legal battle is underway between the two factions to be recognised as the real Shiv Sena.
On Thursday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said that it was told by the police that permission to any one of the factions could lead to clashes.
An unidentified civic official told The Indian Express that tension has been reported in Dadar after a firing incident was reported on September 9.
“Now that the police department has submitted its report, there is no requirement of legal intervention from the civic law committee and the decision to allow the ground for the Dussehra rally to the political groups stands unanimously cancelled,” the official said.
On September 20, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority granted the Shinde faction to hold its Dussehra rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex Ground in the city, according to The Economic Times. The faction had sought this venue as a backup.
Meanwhile, an MLA from the Shinde faction moved the Bombay High Court, requesting it not to hear or decide on the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s petition about holding annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park, according to Live Law.
The Thackeray faction had approached the court on Wednesday.