The rivalry between Union minister Narayan Rane and the Shiv Sena reached another flashpoint when officers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), ruled by Sena, visited the minister’s Juhu bungalow following a complaint of irregularities and violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.
The BMC had issued a notice to the bungalow under Section 488 of Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, 1888, regarding the inspection on Thursday. A team of BMC officers visited the bungalow on Friday, but left after not finding anyone from the minister’s family at home.
The team from BMC’s K-ward (Andheri) revisited the eight-story bungalow ‘Adhish’ on Monday and took photographs, measurements inside the bungalow and checked documents related to approvals.
The BMC visit and allegations of irregularities in the bungalow has since made Rane train his guns at the Shiv Sena in general and the Thackeray family in particular.
Let’s take a look at what is the controversy related to the Juhu property and a timeline full of feud between the BJP minister and the Shiv Sena:
The controversy over Rane’s bungalow
After a reminder complaint from RTI activist Santosh Daundkar, the Shiv Sena-ruled BMC issued a notice to Rane for inspection of the bungalow on Thursday.
According to Indian Express, Daundkar had been complaining about alleged large-scale irregularities in the bungalow since 2017 and filed a reminder complaint, claiming the BMC did not take any action in five years.
Daundkar had alleged seven violations in Rane’s bungalow, including illegally getting CRZ clearance to build the bungalow abutting the Juhu Chowpatty, illegal construction of a basement in CRZ-II, and other unauthorised construction.
In another complaint filed before Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), Daundkar alleged that Rane built eight floors even though he had clearance for only four.
According to Mid-Day, a team of civic officials inspected the place and examined the documents on Monday. The team found some unauthorised construction on the fifth floor.
The BMC will now likely send a notice under Section 53 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act. Rane will have to either regularise the construction or demolish it within a month of receiving this notice.
Rane, however, has denied any irregularities in his bungalow during a press conference on Saturday. He went on to allege violations in the construction of the Thackerays’ residence in Bandra.
Feud between Rane and Shiv Sena
Rane, the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, had started his political career as a “shakha pramukh” in the Shiv Sena and became the chief minister of Maharashtra for eight months in the first Sena-BJP coalition government in 1999.
Angered by the Sena’s decision to name Uddhav Thackeray as the party’s executive president in 2003, Rane challenged his leadership and was later expelled in 2005 by Sena patriarch Balasaheb Thackeray for “anti-party activities”.
Rane then jumped from the Sena to the Congress. He left Congress in 2017, stating there was no scope in the party, and formed the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh.
In 2018, he declared support to the BJP which got him elected to the Rajya Sabha. Later, in 2019, he joined BJP by merging his Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh party.
Time and again, Rane has launched attacks on the Shiv Sena government, and especially the Thackeray family.
In August 2021, Rane said he would have slapped Uddhav for forgetting the year of Independence. A miffed Shiv Sena filed at least three cases against Rane, which led to his arrest at Sangameshwar in Ratnagiri by a Nashik city police team.
During a visit to the flood-affected Konkan region last year, Rane blamed Uddhav’s “bad luck” for the disasters in the state.
Recently, Rane’s son Nitesh, a BJP MLA, was arrested in an attempt to murder case of a Sena functionary Santosh Parab.
Nitesh surrendered before the court on 2 February. Rane in December had claimed Nitesh was falsely implicated in the case.
With inputs from agencies
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February 23, 2022 at 02:55PM
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