New Delhi: Addressing a rally in Mumbadevi for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, BJP Mumbai chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha delivered a speech with a communal pitch when he insinuated that the bombs and bullets used in instances of riots and terror attacks were manufactured “in lanes within 5 km”, according to a report in the Indian Express.
Lodha, who was speaking at an election campaign event for the joint Shiv Sena-BJP candidate Pandurang Sakpal in the Kumbharwada area of the constituency, was likely referring to the Dongri and Nagpada areas in the vicinity, which have a sizeable Muslim population.
Without explicitly naming any locality, Lodha said:
“Aap yeh bhi yaad rakhiye ki 1992 ke dangon ke baad… is Mumbai ke andar kitne bomb blast hue, kitni goliyaan chali, kitne bomb ke dhamake hue, yeh saara udyogsthan kahan par hai? Yeh saara udyogsthan yahan ke aapke 5 km ki galiyon ke andar hai. Aur unke voton ke… unka saath lekar, jo vyakti chunke aayega, woh aapke aanewale samay mein kya dhyan rakhega?
(Remember after the 1992 riots…how many blasts took place in Mumbai, how many bullets were fired, where were their manufacturing centres? They were manufactured in lanes within 5 km from here. A person who is elected with votes from those lanes, how will he take care of you in the times to come?)”
Lodha also said that, keeping in mind that a BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was in power at the Centre, state and municipal corporation, the voters should also vote for the same alliance to keep Mumbai safe.
At the meeting, which was also attended by Shiv Sena’s Aditya Thackeray who arrived after Lodha’s speech, Lodha also alleged that the Congress candidate Amin Patel would be a burden and would only look after the interests of “one particular community”.
“If you vote for Amin Patel, it will be burden on you and us, which we will not be able to forgive ourselves for… beech ke andar yeh jo jhanda lehrayega…toh humare liye kaise sweekarya hoga (The flag that will fly in the middle… how can we accept it)?” Lodha said.
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Lodha also suggested that Hindu Marathas were being discriminated against and said, “When an old building falls, the residents are not rehabilitated in transit camps in Ghodapdev (in the constituency) but have to go to Mankhurd, Dharavi. Why are they not kept in the transit camps here? (Because) It is allotted to one particular community… aur mere yahaan rehnewale Hindu Marathi bhaiyon ko door-door jaana padta hai (and my Hindu Marathi brothers who live here have to go far).”
Lodha also said: “Ab toh nagaada baj hi chuka hai, sarhad pe shaitan ka, toh nakshe par se naam mita do papi Pakistan ka (The bell has started tolling for the demon at the border, wipe out the sinner Pakistan from the map).”
However, Pandurang Sakpal, the Shiv Sena candidate, told the Indian Express that Lodha’s remarks were based on “his personal views and experiences” and that Sakpal did not believe in discriminating between communities. “I personally do not discriminate between any community. I work for all voters and will continue to do so. I have never partitioned between Hindu and Muslim areas and continue to get a good response from all areas,” he said.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Congress candidate Amin Patel said that he believed “in the idea of secularism” and did not wish to react to Lodha’s remarks. However, on Lodha’s charge regarding transit camps, Patel clarified his stance and said that he had demanded that 50,000 transit camps be made.
“Among the demands I had made as an MLA was for 50,000 transit camps to be built on Mumbai Port Trust land, which can be used for residents of all old buildings, of all communities. This state government has not proposed a single transit camp in its term,” Patel said.
BJP Mumbai chief Lodha recently made headlines when, in his election affidavit, he declared assets worth over Rs 441 crore.
Lodha, who is seeking his a sixth consecutive term as an MLA from the Malabar Hill constituency of south Mumbai, is involved in the real estate business and, along with his wife, has movable assets worth over Rs 252 crore and immovable assets of about Rs 189 crore. Lodha also has five pending criminal cases against him.
Last year, GROHE Hurun India Real Estate Rich List 2018 identified Lodha the richest builder in India with a wealth of Rs 27,150 crore.
In 2017, Lodha had demanded the demolition of Jinnah House, the erstwhile residence of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and had sought the construction of a cultural centre in its place.
In its election manifesto, the Maharashtra BJP unit said that it would ask the party-led NDA government at the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Assembly elections in Maharashtra are scheduled to be held on October 21 and the counting of votes will take place on October 24.