Munde new choice for fly-over opening

PUNE, Nov 8: The inauguration of the Paud Phata flyover will finally see the light of the day. But the controversy continues. Deputy Chief M...

PUNE, Nov 8: The inauguration of the Paud Phata flyover will finally see the light of the day. But the controversy continues. Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde will formally open the flyover on November 11. But Chief Minister Manohar Joshi8217;s reluctance in doing so during his visit to the city on Monday has raised several eyebrows.

Mayor Vatsala Andekar8217;s office on Sunday confirmed that Munde had agreed to inaugurate the flyover. Joshi could not accommodate the opening due to lack of time during his visit to the city to attend a function organised by the Shiv Udyog Sena, the Mayor8217;s office said.

As per the Pune Municipal Corporation8217;s general body resolution, the flyover will be named after Swatantriyaveer Savarkar. The controversy over the inauguration of the flyover began when the Maharashtra Military Foundation MMF announced that it would no longer wait for political bigwigs to throw it open to the public. Andekar hurriedly requested MMF office-bearers to wait for a while. She convinced them that Joshi was scheduled to arrive in Pune on November 9 and would inaugurate the flyover then. While MMF office-bearers conceded, the Mayor8217;s office today confirmed that the CM will not be able to inaugurate the flyover. Deputy Chief Minister Munde, however,had agreed to do so.

Meanwhile the local political circles are rife with various speculations on the CM8217;s reluctance to attend the inaugural ceremony fixed for Monday, with several pointing out the strained relationship with former minister Shashikant Sutar who is described as the architect of Kothrud8217;. Local Shiv Sena workers feel that Manohar Joshi was not willing to inaugurate the flyover since Sutar8217;s presence at the function was mandatory as he is the local MLA. After being unceremoniously dropped from the ministry, Sutar and Joshi had not shared the dais at a public function.

In fact, Sutar hit the headlines when he chose to launch a blistering attack on Manohar Joshi on the floor of the assembly. Sutar feels aggrieved as he was not given a ministerial berth even after the Dudhat Commission absolved him of all the charges raised by eminent social worker Anna Hazare. On the contrary, the Bharatiya Janata Party quickly accommodated Mahadeo Shivankar after he was absolved by the commission.

Sutar supporters allege that Joshi deliberately did not accommodate him in the ministry because Sutar was emerging as a powerful force. Now, Sutar8217;s supporters claim that Joshi is feeling guilty about attending a prestigious function in Sutar8217;s constituency. They also maintain that Joshi was particularly worried about the possibility of Sutar8217;s launching yet another public attack against him. They feel that Joshi could not afford to take on Sutar since he was already surrounded by Navales and Gavandes and was passing through a turbulent time because of a writ petition filed against his son-in-law, Girish Vyas.