Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will conduct the ground-breaking ceremony for the Balasaheb Thackeray National Memorial at Dadar on Wednesday.The ceremony will be held in the presence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat. Sources said the event would be organised with limited guests, and others would attend it online due to COVID-19 norms.
BJP has targeted the government for not inviting state opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis to pay homage to the Thackeray memorial. BJP MLA Nitesh Rane has criticized Uddhav Thackeray. Nitesh Rane said that if Balasaheb Thackeray would have alive today, the first invitation would have been given to Devendraji. Balasaheb was a big hearted man! To become a king one needs to have big heart, after him only stories are big, the hearts are too small!"
He further also question why MMRDA Minister Eknath Shinde was not invited to the Bhumi Pujan of Thackeray Memorial? Asking this question, Nitesh Rane shared a photo of the invitation card.
The names of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, President of Balasaheb Thackeray National Monument Aditya Thackeray, Secretary Subhash Desai, MMRDA Authority, Abha Lamba Architect and Contractor Tata Projects are mentioned in the card. However, it is surprising that the Minister in charge of MMRDA, Eknath Shinde's name is not mentioned in the invitation card.
The memorial, which will cost Rs 400 crore, is being set up at the former official mayoral bungalow, a sea-facing property BMC owned and transferred to the trust, at Shivaji Park in Dadar.