The Hindu 06.07.2017
BMC gets Rs. 647 cr. as first GST payout
Money
matters:Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav
Thackeray receive the cheque from Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on
Wednesday.Deepak SalviDeepak Salvi
Sena corporators shout slogans against PM, heckle BJP corporator
The
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday received the
first payout of Rs. 647 crore as compensation for the revenue it will
lose following the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST).
State
Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar presented the cheque to Mayor
Vishwanath Mahadeshwar at the BMC headquarters. Shiv Sena president
Uddhav Thackeray also addressed the gathering.
Just before the
ceremony, however, Sena corporators allegedly heckled Makrand Narvekar,
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator from Colaba, outside the
headquarters. They allegedly also shouted slogans against Prime Minister
Minister Narendra Modi during the ceremony.
Mr. Narvekar told The Hindu
, “It was an important day for Mumbai as the BJP-led State government
handed over the payout of close to Rs. 700 crore in fulfilment of the
promise made to the city. This fact did not go down well with the Sena,
and as per their usual tactics, the party tried to distract people’s
attention from the core issue. As they say the tiger never changes its
stripes, the use of violence and goondagiri is in the DNA of the Shiv Sena, which came to fore again today.”
Mr.
Narvekar said some people tried to obstruct his way and prevent him
from entering the BMC hall. “To be honest, I did not even recognise the
people who created the fracas. There are so many new corporators in the
BMC today. I have sought a copy of the closed circuit television camera
footage, and my party will take a call on any further action to be taken
over the incident.”
Mr.
Narvekar said he was merely heckled and obstructed by the group of
corporators, and not assaulted as was being said by the Sena. He did not
reject the possibility of having been targeted because of the Sena’s
strained relationship with his elder brother, Rahul Narvekar, who left
the party in 2014 and joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Rahul
Narvekar had served as the spokesperson of the youth wing of the Shiv
Sena till 2014, when he withdrew his candidature from the Maharasthra
Legislative Council elections and joined the NCP. He had extremely close
relations with Matoshree, and was part of Mr. Thackeray’s ‘kitchen
cabinet’ before he left the party. Mr. Thackeray has in the past held on
to grudges against high-profile party deserters; he only recently
shared the dais with Congress leader Narayan Rane, 12 years after he
left the Shiv Sena.
Mr. Makrand Narvekar was elected as an
independent candidate from Colaba in the recently held civic polls, and
subsequently joined the BJP along with his brother’s wife, Harshada, in
March 2017.
“I have no grudges against anyone. But even presuming
that that was the reason for the heckling, the crux of the issue is that
the Sena is a party of goons who resort to violence at the drop of a
hat. Sena corporators were also shouting slogans and calling Prime
Minister Narendra Modi disparaging names. When confronted, they claimed
they were referring to Lalit Modi (former chairman of the Indian Premier
League). And the Sena leaders were shouting slogans when their own
party chief was addressing the gathering. This speaks volumes about the
party discipline,” Mr. Narvekar said.