Workers belonging to both parties got into a scuffle with each other at the drive-in vaccination centre located at Andheri Sports Complex
The centre was inaugurated by local BJP MLA Bharti Lavekar, who was invited there by BJP corporator Ranjana Patil. Pic/Anurag Ahire
In a battle over bragging rights for the newly opened drive-in-vaccination centre located at Andheri Sports Complex, party workers belonging to the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party got into a heated scuffle—over literally nothing—on Saturday.
Andheri Sports Complex is located in Ward Number 63, whose corporator is Ranjana Patil of the BJP. After the success of the Dadar-based Kohinoor drive-in vaccination facility, which was the city’s first, the BMC had marked six more locations to start drive-in vaccination centres as well, out of which, one is located at Andheri Sports Complex. The centre was inaugurated by local BJP MLA Bharti Lavekar, who was invited by Patil to grace the occasion. Shortly thereafter, Shiv Sena’s Rajul Patel—who was elected as the BMC’s Health Committee Chairperson just last month after defeating the BJP’s Bindu Trivedi—showed up at the vaccination centre along with a few party workers. This face-off between the two caused tensions to escalate, resulting in a scuffle.
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Speaking with mid-day, Lavekar said, “Ranjana Patil is our nagar sevak and she had invited me to the vaccination facility on Saturday to inaugurate it. Soon, some Shiv Sena workers showed up… and it escalated into a scuffle and some pushing and pulling between both party workers.” She alleged that BJP women party workers were “manhandled” and “abused” by the opposing camp.
When asked if it was correct for a vaccination centre to be politicised, Lavekar said, “BMC needs people and helpers to aid them in carrying out their duties at vaccination centres. They cannot do it all alone. They need people to help them organise. They do not have enough man force.”
Shiv Sena’s Patel said: “The drive-in vaccination facility at Andheri Sports Complex is a BMC initiative. I had been invited there by virtue of being the BMC Health Committee Chairman. But when I reached there, she [Lavekar] got hyper. I also saw that social distancing protocol was not being followed. When we requested for some of the party workers to simply move away, a scuffle broke out.” She added: “It became a political matter because the programme was organised by the Mahanagar Palika. There is no need for an MLA [Lavekar] to come there—she has no role.”
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