Uddhav sends BMC Rs. 5 lakh cheque to cover Bal Thackeray's funeral expenses

Irked by reports that taxpayers’ money was spent on arrangements at the funeral of his father, the late Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has sent a Rs 5 lakh cheque to the civic body to cover the funeral costs.

Irked by reports that taxpayers’ money was spent on arrangements at the funeral of his father, the late Bal Thackeray, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, on Thursday, sent a Rs. 5 lakh cheque to the civic body to cover the funeral expenses.

This amount was used for providing security, CCTV’s and LED screens across the area and was recently put up at the civic standing committee for sanction.

Sena MP Anil Desai who delivered the cheque to the BMC on Thursday said that Uddhav Thackeray was upset after reading that the standing committee had mooted a proposal to sanction Rs. 5 lakh as the funeral costs.

“The funeral took place in state’s honour; the security was provided by the state and about 45 lakh people were present there…. Even today lakhs of Sainiks would be ready to give up their lives for him. After spending so much on the funeral, there was no need to place this cost amount in the standing committee and Uddhavji is capable of taking care of the same,” Desai said in a statement issued by the Sena.

“Providing CCTV cameras and LED screens was a decision jointly taken by the police and the government, and the Shiv Sena had no role to play,” mayor Sunil Prabhu said “However, the question remains that if the next time the city hosts a personality or there is an event that organised on such a large scale, would the costs of security be incurred by the organisers?”