Inviting trouble, the Munde way

While the men at Cultural Affairs Department may ask what’s in a name, Munde definitely thinks plenty. “I do not want to be an uninvited guest. Since I was not invited, I did not attend the function,” a visibly upset Munde told The Indian Express.

Munde said it was unfortunate that the Cultural Affairs Department did not carry his name on the invitation card, while it prominently carried the names of Cultural Affairs Minister Pramod Navalkar, Minister of state for Cultural Affairs Anil Deshmukh and PWD Minister Nitin Gadkari.

“Probably the Cultural Affairs Department did not want to invite me to the function, though I am the Deputy Chief Minister of the state,” Munde added.

While the others were busy listening to the Nightingale, Munde found his music in the problems of the leaders of the muster clerks association. He had no appointments for the day and after routine meetings at his official residence in Ramtek, he reached Mantralaya around 4 pm to meet the delegation, and stayed there till late in the night.

Insiders feel that the on-going cold war between Joshi and Munde is fast reaching a flashpoint.

“Certainly, it was a great insult for Munde,” a senior BJP minister said on condition of anonymity.The minister said that the Shiv Sena and BJP are at loggerheads over major policy issues. While the BJP was strongly against clearing the multi-crore Sahara Hill resort project and disposal of surplus mill land, the Shiv Sena has taken diametrically opposite view on these issues.

Even some Shiv Sena ministers felt that it was the responsibility of the Chief Secretary to ensure that not only Munde was invited to such functions, but also that his name was printed on the official invitation card.

The prestigious award, carrying Rs five lakh in cash and a scroll of honour, was introduced by the Sena-BJP government last year. Literary genius PL Deshpande was the first recipient.

Incidentally, this was not for the first time that awards presented to the members of the Mangeshkar family have had a controversial touch. Last week, veteran singer Asha Bhosale had launched a frontal attack on the alliance government for ignoring her at the Lata Mangeshkar Award presentation ceremony. The award was presented to her brother and eminent music director Hridaynath Mangeshkar.