While Mira Road mourned for martyr Rane, BJP MLA was attending corporator’s birthday feast

The BJP has been left red-faced about the incident, forcing BJP MLA Narendra Mehta to apologise. He said the event was pre-planned.

A video surfaced on social media on Wednesday showing Anand Manjrekar, BJP corporator from ward 17(A) celebrating his birthday in Jangid Estate municipal ground on Tuesday evening, even as news came about the martyrdom of Major Kaustubh Rane, who sacrificed his life while fighting infiltrators at Gurez sector in Kashmir.

BJP corporator Anand Manjrekar (centre, in blue shirt) celebrates his birthday in Mira Road. (Azim Tamboli/HT Photo)

The BJP has been left red-faced about the incident, forcing BJP MLA Narendra Mehta who was at the event to apologise. He said the event was pre-planned.

Incidentally, the ground where Manjrekar’s birthday celebration took place is located metres away from the martyr’s residence in Sheetal Nagar.

Huge banners were put up all over the town and in particular, Manjrekar’s ward for the birthday, and a stage was erected on which the cake was cut. A stream of BJP workers attended the function to wish Manjrekar, and some danced to the tunes of a DJ hired for the function.

When contacted, Manjrekar said he was “unaware about the national tragedy and came to know only after the event was over”, while Mehta said the function should not have been organised in the first place and tendered an apology.

However, the BJP has been left embarrassed as on the banners, the image of Prime Minister Modi was splashed all over the twin cities of Mira and Bhayander.