Mumbai civic body denies permission to both Sena factions for Dussehra rally

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has denied permission to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena as well as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction for holding Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park here on October 5, a top BMC official said on Thursday.

The permission has been denied on the basis of law and order concerns raised by Mumbai Police, according to civic officials.

Notably, the Shinde faction last week got the nod for holding a rally at the MMRDA ground at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.

BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told PTI that the civic administration has denied permission to both the Shiv Sena factions for holding a rally at the Shivaji Park on the occasion of Dussehra on October 5.

According to the BMC, the Shivaji Park police in their feedback said the permission for rally to any of the two factions could lead to a "serious problem of law and order in the sensitive Shivaji Park area".

The civic body has sent letters to both the factions conveying about the denial of permission, officials said.

On August 22, Anil Desai of the Thackeray-led Sena had applied to the BMC for permission to hold the rally at the Shivaji park in central Mumbai.

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Later, on August 30, MLA Sada Sarvankar of the Shinde faction had also applied for nod from the civic body's G-North ward for holding the Dussehra rally at the park.

Deputy municipal commissioner of BMC's zone-2 denied permission to both the Thackeray and Shinde factions based on the Shivaji Park police station's concerns about law and order.

"While both the opponent applicants have applied for permission to hold the Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Maharaj Park Maidan, if any one of the applicants is granted permission to hold the rally, this may create a serious problem of law and order in the sensitive area of ??Shivaji Park," as per the police remarks in the BMC's letter sent to both the factions.

Meanwhile, MLA Sada Sarvankar filed an application in the Bombay High Court on Thursday, seeking the court to not hear or decide the Thackeray-led Sena's petition for permission to hold their annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park.

Sarvankar said if the HC passes any order on the issue, then it would cause impediment on the ongoing dispute on who represents the "real Shiv Sena".

The application is likely to be mentioned on Thursday before a division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Kamal Khata, which is scheduled to hear the petition filed by Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and its secretary Anil Desai on Wednesday.

In his application, Sarvankar, the MLA from Dadar in Mumbai, said he belongs to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction, who is the "Mukyaneta of Shiv Sena"