BJP leaders were conspicuous by their absence in the inauguration ceremony of Britannia pumping station at Reay Road. Barring deputy mayor Alka Kerkar, who attended the event as a part of protocol, other prominent city leaders, including Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, were absent despite being invited by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Along with Mr Shelar, BMC party group leader Manoj Kotak, improvements committee chairman Prakash Gangadhare, BEST committee chairman Mohan Mithbavkar skipped the inauguration function, thereby clearly again indicating that relations between Sena and BJP remains frosty.
BJP’s boycott has been seen as a fitting reply to the Sena, which had decided to stay away from the Smart City programme, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Pune couple of days back. “Looking at the unsavoury incidents for the last few days, we did not want to spoil the atmosphere by going there. Hence the decision was taken to boycott the event in the morning only. But deputy mayor was there on protocol grounds,” said a senior BJP leader in the BMC.
Despite being in power both in the state government and the BMC, Sena and BJP are at loggerheads on several issues. Activists of both parties have recently hit the streets protesting against each other. Sena supporters on Tuesday agitated opposite Churchgate railway station and burnt an effigy of Mr Shelar. Following this, the BJP has threatened Sena it would give a ‘tit for tat’ answer.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, however, refrained from taking potshots at the BJP at the inauguration. In fact, he lauded the alliance partner’s ‘co-operation’.
