The Congress’ promise to the minority community on naming the Bhendi Bazar flyover after Muslim saint Hazrat Makhdoom Ali Mahimi has upset the Bombay Parsi Panchayat. Hazrat Makhdoom was born at Mahim six centuries ago.
The 2.4-km-long structure, inaugurated on May 1, 2002, links two important institutions named after Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy and is popularly known as J J Marg flyover. However, it is still to be officially named.
“We will send a memorandum to the chief minister expressing our opposition to any such move. The flyover has been named after one of the great philanthropists of India. Why should his name be knocked off from the flyover?” said Godrej Dotiwala, public relations officer of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat. He said the Congress’ move was just a election ploy aimed at winning over the minority community.
Echoing Dotiwala’s views, Adi Doctor, who edits ‘The Parsee Voice’, a fortnightly newsletter, said the government should take into account popular opinion before changing the name of the flyover.
Meanwhile, Parsis have found support from the Shiv Sena. Accusing the Congress of trying to win Muslim votes, leader of opposition Narayan Rane said the Sena would oppose it. He claimed that NCP leader Sharad Pawar and former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had made a promise to name the flyover after Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy
A delegation of Congress ministers and activists, including minister of state for home Kripashanker Singh and minister of state for food and civil supplies Naseem Khan, met chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday to demand that the flyover be named after the Muslim saint. Congress corporator Amin Patel said more than 25 organisations had backed the demand. He added that Shinde had asked the state general administration department to make a detailed proposal on the issue.
Muslim organisations have made similar
requests to the government in the past too. In fact, NCP MLA Bashir
Patel had proposed in 2002 that Hazrat Makhdoom’s name be given to the
flyover.