Some NCP leaders are unhappy that the suggestion should come from their chief; they view it as a sign of submission to the Congress. The Shiv Sena and the BJP have demanded that the sea link be named after Veer Savarkar. The CPI wants it after Kanhoji Angre, mariner and freedom fighter. And MNS chief Raj Thackeray feels it would be apt to name it after a Maharashtra leader, preferably someone involved in the statehood movement.

Pawar’s proposal was immediately accepted by chief minister Ashok Chavan at the inauguration; Congress chief Sonia Gandhi thanked Pawar and the state government. The same day, an NCP team led by P A Sangma said the party was looking forward to an alliance with the Congress.

An NCP leader said: “At a time when some Congress leaders are opposing an alliance with the NCP, it looks as if Pawar is willing to do anything to please Sonia. His gesture is unbecoming of a leader of his stature.” He said the suggestion would demoralise NCP cadres. “A few months ago, Pawar was being projected as a PM candidate and was talking about possible realignments after the Lok Sabha elections. Now, NCP cadres feel the party has to play second fiddle to the Congress,” he said.

For the Shiv Sena, Manohar Joshi said a decision to name the sea link after Savarkar was taken when the foundation was laid during the Sena-BJP regime. State BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and legislator Vinod Tawde, too, objected to Rajiv’s name for the landmark.

In Nagpur, the Chief Minister backed Pawar’s idea. “Rajivji was born in Mumbai and had stayed there too,” he said. He rejected Gadkari’s claim that the project had been conceived during the Sena-BJP regime and that Savarkar’s name had been decided.

Raj Thackeray said a state leader’s name is more apt but a more pressing issue is the need to scrap the toll on motorists using the link. The controversy over the name smacks of “stupidity” and has been raked up to divert attention, he said at the launch of marathimaya.com, a Marathi magazine-cum-website.

CPI leader Prakash Reddy demanded toll exemption for BEST buses. He said Pawar’s suggestion was “a public display of his helplessness” but naming the structure after Kanhoji Angre would inspire the young.

(Inputs from ENS, Mumbai and Nagpur)