In a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP activist Santosh Pande has requested that the proposed theme park at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai be named after RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. Pande also demanded that a ‘magnificent memorial’ of Hedgewar be constructed at the Mahalaxmi Race Course. The letter was sent to both Shinde and Fadnavis on February 24. The copy of the letter was made public by the BJP Sunday. The one-page letter states, “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had planned a Theme Park at Mahalaxmi Race Course. The project after completion should be named after RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.”
Reacting to the letter, an official in the CMO said: “Whenever we receive letters from party members, MLAs, MPs, and citizens, they are acknowledged. The letters are then referred to the departments concerned. After carefully studying a proposal, it is put up for discussion. However, the final decisions are taken after thorough deliberations factoring in all complexities. As of now, it is just a proposal from a local BJP leader. There is no discussion on it as yet.” A general secretary of the Mumbai BJP unit said requesting anonymity, “The BJP is in power at the Centre and in the state. It is bound to push the RSS/BJP agenda. In Mumbai, we pushed for Bal Thackeray and Dr BR Ambedkar memorials. The projects are in progress. Naturally, a section within the BJP may have suggested why not have a Dr KB Hedgewar memorial in Mumbai. Now, nobody is going to immediately give consent to or reject the proposal without sensing the public reaction.” Mahalaxmi Race Course is located in Worli, which falls under Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s Assembly constituency.