Guardian Ministers setting up offices in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters wrong precedent: NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT)

The Opposition said Mumbai’s guardian Ministers setting up offices in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters has set a wrong precedent and is an act of encroachment of rights of civic bodies. The issue was raised in the Maharashtra Assembly by Nationalist Congress Party’s Jayant Patil.

The Opposition on July 21 said Mumbai's guardian Ministers setting up offices in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters has set a wrong precedent and is an act of encroachment of rights of civic bodies.

The issue was raised in the Maharashtra Assembly by Nationalist Congress Party's Jayant Patil.

He said the Bharatiya Janta Party's Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who is the guardian Minister of Mumbai suburbs, has set up his office in one of the BMC cabins.

"I was the guardian Minister of this city and opening an office in the civic body is encroaching on the rights of the civic body. There is no elected representative in the BMC and the government has to keep more distance from the local self government bodies to ensure their independence," Mr. Patil said.

"The BMC commissioner can be summoned to the Minister's office, but setting up an office is a wrong precedent," the senior NCP leader asserted.

Targeting the State government, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said the market committee and education committee chairperson's cabins have been given to two guardian Ministers.