Event to unveil Atal statue cancelled at last minute

The BJP had organised an ‘Atal Mahotsav’ to mark the memory of the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Mumbai An event to unveil the statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Gopal Shetty, in the presence of party national president JP Nadda, had to be cancelled at the last moment due to the state government denying permissions.

The programme was held at a sports complex at Kandivali East, where Nadda was scheduled to be present to unveil the Atal statue. (HT File)

The BJP had organised an ‘Atal Mahotsav’ to mark the memory of the former prime minister, whose birth anniversary was observed on Saturday. The programme was held at a sports complex at Kandivali East, where Nadda was scheduled to be present.

However, Shetty, who represents Mumbai North in the Lok Sabha, said that the inauguration of the statue had to be cancelled as sports minister Sunil Kedar, who belongs to the Congress, and holds charge of the sports portfolio, denied permissions.

“The Mumbai suburban district collector and the commissioner of sports had given their consents in March. However, the file was pending till 4.45 PM on Friday and the permission was refused,” charged Shetty. He added that this had led to Nadda cancelling his visit to Mumbai.

This last-minute denial had also prevented the BJP from approaching the courts for redressal, said Shetty. Kedar was not available for his comments despite repeated attempts.

However, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) president Bhai Jagtap questioned, “How can BJP leaders celebrate Atal Mahotsav when the number of Covid and Omicron cases are on the rise.”

Jagtap said that while they respected Vajpayee, it was wrong to launch public celebrations in times of a public health emergency.