Sena in spot over Sachin’s ‘shower’ ad
The Shiv Sena is confused over Sachin Tendulkar.
The Shiv Sena is confused over Sachin Tendulkar.
Embarrassed by its corporators attacking the hi-profile cricketer on his advertisement campaign to save water, the party on Thursday first disowned the corporators saying what they expressed was their personal view, but later said the media misquoted the civic leaders.
Sources said Sena corporators lashed out at Sachin as they were upset with the civic administration for not accepting the film script written by a corporator for the ‘Save Water’ campaign. But this has now put the party in a spot.
In November, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had lashed out at the legendary cricketer for his alleged anti-Mumbai comments.
Sachin, who had said that Mumbai was a part of India and that every Indian had an equal right to the city, drew flak from Sena chief Bal Thackeray.
In a letter to Tendulkar published in Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, Thackeray advised him not to get involved in politics.
On Wednesday, at the Standing Committee meeting, Sena corporator Prabhakar Shinde said that someone like water expert Madhavrao Chitale, should have appeared in the ad.
Sena’s leader in the civic body, Sunil Prabhu, said: “The common man should have featured in the film instead of a celebrity.”
Prabhu objected to Sachin saying that he had stopped using a shower as it did not “relate” to the common man. “The common Mumbaiite does not use a shower.” Prabhu had said. Sachin agreed to do the civic corporation’s ‘Save Water’ campaign for free.
Standing Committee Chairman Ravindra Waikar on Thursday clarified that the corporators had the “highest honour” for Sachin and they never opposed his presence in the ad.
“The objection was to the word ‘shower’ as it does not relate to the common man,” Waikar said in an unsigned letter.