GANESHA BRINGS WARRING SENAS TOGETHER

Shiv Sena and MNS partymen ransack Grant Road ward office and garland assistant commissioner's chair to protest against BMC decision to declare Girgavcha Raja pandal as illegal

The Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), are mostly seen sparring with each other and engaging in a game of one-upmanship when it comes to theatrics and histrionics to heckle the government and the administration.

This time, Ganesha brought them together and for once they were not at each other’s throats.

Both Sena and MNS party workers, showing an uncanny commonality of interest, ransacked the richest ward office, D ward, situated at Nana Chowk on Monday.

They not only ransacked the ward office, but also lifted the chair of the assistant commissioner and placed it in the compound; then, they mockingly placed a garland around it to send out a warning to non-performing babus – this is the fate that awaits you for bureaucratic inertia.

This was in protest against the stringent rules formulated by the BMC for Ganpati mandal organisers for raising pandals ahead of the annual Ganeshotsav.

The workers of the two parties claimed in unison that the ‘D’ ward office had declared Girgaon’s prestigious pandal as illegal and raised slogans against the BMC for taking action against the mandal organisers.

The target of their ire was the ward officer Vishwas Mote, the assistant municipal commissioner, who had

instructed officials to take action against one of the Girgaon mandals for raising the pandal illegally.

The protestors claimed that BMC officials initiated action against the Girgoancha Raja Ganesh pandals without prior intimation, which had upset them the most.

A meeting was organised with the civic officials and Girgaon Ganesh mandal at the ward office to finalise the plans ahead of Ganeshotsav. During the meeting, the Girgoan mandal organisers expressed their disappointment with the BMC's stiff attitude towards them. The ganesh mandal members asked them to show some leniency. Since the officers were not relenting, the mandal organisers turned violent.

Vishwas Mote confirmed the incident and stated appropriate action has been taken by the Gamdevi police station against the agitators. Sixteen protesters from Sena and MNS had been arrested by the police, produced before Girgaum court and were later released on bail bond of Rs 10,000 each.