To counter Shiv Sena's vada-pav, BJP proposes 'Namo tea stall'

Mumbai, May 27: In a bid to counter the Shiv Sena which has promoted 'Shiv' vada-pav eateries across Mumbai, BJP, its partner in the ruling alliance at the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, wants 'Namo tea stalls' on city roads.

'Namo' refers to the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The concept was proposed by our corporator Prakash Gangadhare and we discussed it in our party meeting and endorsed it," BJP group leader in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, Manoj Kotak said.

"The proposal has been forwarded to the MCGM commissioner. MCGM is finalising the list and details of the illegal hawkers in the city at present. So I suggested a slight modification (to the concept) that there should be no illegality while allotting these NaMo tea stalls," he said.

The opposition parties, however, have slammed the proposal. Leader of opposition Pravin Chheda (Congress) said, "This move is another 'joomla'....There is not a single rule in the BMC Act (Corporation Act) which can allow the civic body to permit eateries promoting a personality cult."

"Even the Shiv vada pav eateries have not been regularised so far," he pointed out. Trushna Vishwasrao, Shiv Sena group leader in MCGM, said, "It's only a proposal now. It won't be correct to comment on it."

PTI