NCP,Congress lock horns over bridge name

The effort to name the bridge after a Dalit icon is being seen as a bid by the two parties to woo Dalit voters,following Ramdas Athawale led-RPI parting ways with Congress-NCP alliance in the state to join hands with the BJP-Shiv Sena.

In Mumbai,the NCP had recently wanted the Dadar railway junction in Mumbai to be renamed ‘Chaitya Bhoomi’ in memory of Dalit icon Babasaheb Ambedkar.

RPI corporator in the PMC,Avinash Salve,in whose ward the bridge falls,along with Congress representatives,submitted a proposal to name the under-construction bridge connecting Yerawada and Bund Garden as ‘Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar setu’. Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal,along with party corporator Balasaheb Kapre,submitted another proposal to name it after Jyotiba Phule.“The construction would be over by August-end. There are two proposals. The name committee should take a decision as per rules and their powers,” said the traffic department of the PMC in response to opinion sought on the proposal. Additional City Engineer Srinivas Bonala,in-charge of the traffic department,said that the department had submitted its opinion on the proposal and the powers of naming the bridge are with the committee.

“The department is supposed to ensure there is no repetition of name and priority should be given to the proposal of the elected representative in whose electoral ward the civic property exists,” he said adding that the first proposal is from the local corporator and second is from the mayor who represents the entire city.

RPI leader Salve said,“I submitted the proposal much before the one by the mayor. The bridge is being constructed in my electoral ward,so it should be named Ambedkar setu. I have conveyed this to the mayor. We respect Jyotiba Phule but the name of Ambedkar was proposed first,” he said,adding,“We will take on the mayor if it is made a political issue,” he said.

Congress leader and former mayor Rajani Tribhuvan said that it was wrong to submit another proposal when a proposal on naming it Ambdekar setu was in process. “There should not be any politics on the issue. Both Phule and Ambedkar were great personalities,but the first proposal should be taken into consideration,” she said.

Rajpal was not available for comment but NCP corporator Kapre said,“The proposal was the idea of the mayor and I only extended support.”