Renaming chorus begins: First one in is ‘Bal Thackeray-Dadar’ station

It has not even been a week since Bal Thackeray passed away, but there is already a demand to rename Dadar station after him. Surprisingly, the demand was made by a Congress corporator.

The Congress and the Republican Party of India (RPI) earlier insisted that station be renamed Chaityaboomi — the memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

“Dadar station connects Mumbai to the rest of the country. Since Thackeray uplifted the careers of many of his party activists, his name must be linked to the station. It should be called the Bal Thackeray-Dadar railway station,” Nayan Sheth, Congress corporator from Hindu Colony, Dadar, said during the BMC’s general body meeting on Thursday.

Congress leaders in the BMC distanced themselves from Sheth’s demand. “This is his personal opinion and not the party’s view,” said Kishor Joshi, spokesperson for the party’s Mumbai unit. RPI leaders were not available for comment.

Yashodhar Phanase, Shiv Sena corporator and leader of the house, demanded that the proposed Nhava-Sewri link and the coastal road (connecting South Mumbai to Kandivli) be named after Thackeray. BJP group leader in the BMC, Dilip Patel, wants the Greenfield Navi Mumbai international airport to be named after the Sena chief.