At a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) garden and market committee meeting on Thursday, July 15, a Samajwadi Party (SP) corporator from Govandi (M East ward) tabled a proposition to name a municipality park after Tipu Sultan.
However, a controversy erupted over the proposal with BJP corporators registering strong objection to the idea, calling Sultan anti-Hindu, and a Samajwadi Party (SP) corporator accusing the saffron party of communalising the issue.
In a letter sent to the garden and market committee chairman, BJP leader Bhalchandra Shirsat said that his party was not against naming the garden after a Muslim name. He, however, alleged that Tipu Sultan was not an ideal candidate as he had opposed the British only for his personal gains.
In January 2021, Rukhsana Siddique from the Samajwadi Party had written a letter to the Markets and Garden Committee to name the garden after Tipu Sultan. The suggestion was accepted and sent to the committee for its approval.
BJP has alleged that civic body BMC has passed a proposal to name the garden after Tipu Sultan. BMC, however, claimed that naming the garden is still pending.
The Shiv Sena-led Market and Garden Committee has now sent back the proposal to the civic administration, asking for more details.
On Thursday, July 15, the BJP also visited Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, however, they were informed that no decision has been made so far on the issue. Mayor later told the media that the BJP was doing petty politics on the issue.
According to reports, the revamp of the two-acre plot, which had long been plagued by encroachment and anti-social activities, into a garden is expected to be completed by December.
The BMC is spending around INR 2 crores on the project and the contractor has been given an 18-month deadline to finish the work by year-end.
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