After MNS, AIMIM opposes Bal Thackeray's at Mayor's bungalow

After the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), it is the turn of the All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to oppose the memorial for late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at the Mayor's bungalow.

While Raj has sought that the memorial for his uncle not come up on the sea-facing bungalow at Dadar and instead be located on a larger piece of land, the AIMIM — which is led by the Hyderabad-based Owaisi brothers — has objected to memorials being constructed from public money for departed leaders. It has instead suggested that hospitals and educational institutions be constructed in the name of these leaders to serve as public goods.

"We have objections to memorials. Instead of constructing memorials, facilities like hospitals, educational institutions and universities must be built in the name of Balasaheb if a tribute is to be paid to him. There can be no better way of doing it (paying respects to his memory)," said AIMIM legislator from Byculla in Mumbai, Waris Pathan.

"Balasaheb was a great Marathi leader. But making a memorial and wasting public money on it is not justified. Facilities like a hospital will be a better memorial…. if this happens, people will say they went to Balasaheb memorial hospital or Balasaheb memorial school, which will be a more fitting tribute," he added, stating that the state could use funds meant for these memorials on waiving off loans of distressed farmers.

"The Mayor's bungalow is a heritage structure," noted Pathan, adding that the issue was never discussed before the state legislature.

Earlier, the AIMIM had objected to senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde's memorial coming up on government land in Aurangabad. Pathan's colleague in the assembly, former journalist and Aurangabad MLA Imtiaz Jaleel suggested that instead, a hospital be built in the name of the former union minister who passed away in 2014.

However, Pathan supported the state's plans to construct a memorial for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on the Indu Mill land at Dadar considering his contribution to the country and his role in the framing of the constitution. He however refused to comment on the party's stance on the proposed international memorial for Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea.

In the past, Jaleel — who is one of the two MLAs in Maharashtra from the party led by Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi and his firebrand brother and MLA Akbaruddin — had also demanded that the Haj subsidy must be scrapped and the money must be used for building schools for Muslim girls considering their low literacy rate. He had suggested that instead of allowing only Air India to fly these pilgrims, private airlines be brought in, and competitive bidding allowed to bring down Haj fares.

The right-wing AIMIM had made a swashbuckling entry into Maharashtra's politics in 2012 by winning 11 seats in the Nanded civic polls. Though it stayed away from contesting the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it fought the assembly polls later that year, and secured a major political opening by winning two of the 26 seats it contested from and damaged the Congress and NCP at many places.

On Tuesday, which was Thackeray Sr's third death anniversary, Raj had stirred the hornet's test and set the stage for another confrontation with estranged cousin and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. Raj had attacked the Shiv Sena and the state government for selecting the Mayor's bungalow at Dadar as the memorial site for late Bal Thackeray and alleged that the Sena was trying to usurp the prime, sea-facing bungalow under this guise.