In the run-up to next year's
BMC elections, the
Shiv Sena has proposed to build an Urdu Bhavan in Byculla to monitor Muslim votes. In the standing committee of the Urdu Bhavan, the Shiv Sena has amended the municipal budget and set aside Rs 1.5 crore. The Sena's pitch for the Urdu Bhavan comes after the BMC announced in this year's budget that it would build a 'Dabbawala Bhavan' in central Mumbai.
Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav, who heads the standing committee, said more funds would be set aside for the Urdu Bhavan in general. And body amendment. This Urdu house will have a research center, auditorium and library. It will become a hub for Urdu language learning excellence and scholarships. We will allocate more funds for this and work will start this year itself,”Jadhav said. We will ask BMC to form a panel of Urdu scholars to oversee its construction,”Jadhav said.
In the 2017 BMC election manifesto, Sena had promised to build the Dabbawala Bhavan, but four years later the promise remains a paper provision in the budget. Political analysts say the army will exploit Muslim voters. Last year the Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. The Muslim community can prove to be a decisive factor in the more than 30 seats in the 227-strong
BMC, and this community is being rewarded by political parties. The Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which have received support from the Muslim community for years, are now accepting Sena as well.
