The grave of 1993 bomb blast convict Yakub Memon, at the graveyard in Mumbai has been turned into a shrine, this allegation by BJP has created a furour in the Political scene of Mumbai. More importantly BJP has alleged that this happened during the MVA rule and have even demanded an apology from Uddhav Thackeray and an investigation in this matter.
After Ram Kadam, BJP MLA from Ghatkopar in Mumbai, raised the issue of the grave of Yakub Memon being converted into a shrine, everyone has lapped on to it.
Yakub Memon was a convict and was hanged to death for his crimes related to the 1993 bomb blast in Mumbai that killed several and injured many. The blasts are a black dot in the history of the city.
Keshav Upadhyay, chief spokesperson, BJP said, “The decoration of the grave took place during the MVA rule and the MVA has to answer this question. They cannot shy away from it, Uddhav Thackeray should apologise and answer how the grave of a convict in Mumbai blast was allowed.”
State BJP President, Chandrasekhar Bawankule, said, “The beautification of Grave of Yakub Memon took place during the COVID pandemic, the CM Uddhav Thackeray had no time for common man, but MVA government helped the beautification & it has exposed that Uddhav compromised with Hindutva for staying as CM. The beautification happened with an unwritten consent of the MVA government. Action be taken immediately on those involved in the beautification.”
The Shiv Sena on the other hand claims BJP has run out of answers on crucial issues and hence is trying to create a controversy.
Arvind Sawant, South Mumbai MP from Shiv Sena where the grave is located said, “How is MVA or Uddhav Thackeray responsible for this, is it the only grave that has been decorated in the graveyard? This question has to be asked to the trustee, and if there’s something wrong then it should enquired upon.”
Repeated attempts to contact trustee of the Graveyard got us no response.
However, what’s important to note that the issue has cropped up on the face of BMC elections which will be held soon. The MVA had three parties as it’s constituents, the Shiv Sena, NCP, and the Congress. It was the Congress that was ruling the state in 1993 when the blasts took place.
The BJP is claiming that silence from Congress and NCP won’t work, as they were sharing power with Sena and hence needs to be answered. Surely, a new headache for the Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray which already is battling a controversy, a split and a battle for its existence.
