Party sought permission for a Shivaji Jayanti celebration, then went on to hold a political rally. BMC issues warning.

For all its exhortations on increasing transparency and ringing in a new kind of politics, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) apparently thought nothing of renting a playground from Mumbai's municipal body, seeking permission for a celebration of Shivaji Jayanti, and then going on to hold a full-fledged political rally. A peeved Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, whose rules do not permit the renting of playgrounds for political rallies, has written to the organisers of the rally and made it clear that the party would forfeit its deposit.

The AAP's Maharashtra unit held a political rally on Wednesday at the Sant Ramdas Park, Andheri (W) in Mumbai, the launch rally of its Lok Sabha election campaign in the state. Present at the rally were the party's chief ideologue Yogendra Yadav and candidates Medha Patkar (Mumbai north East), Mayank Gandhi (Mumbai North West), Anjali Damania (Nagpur) and Vijay Pandhare (Nashik). However, it now appears that the party had actually sought permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to use the ground to celebrate Shivaji Jayanti.

“The AAP had sought permission to celebrate Shivaji Jayanti and not to hold a political rally. It is a complete violation of the permission given to them. So, we have forfeited the deposit of Rs 2,200 for violating the permission,” assistant commissioner of the BMC's K-West ward Vishwas Shankarwar told Firstpost. “On Thursday, we have sent a letter to AAP informing them of this and with a warning that it will not get any permission to use the ground in future,” added Shankarwar.

Another civic official told Firstpost that an officer-bearer of AAP for the North West district had sought permission to celebrate Shivaji Jayanti. “Since the park is a designated playground, it can only be used only for playing or sporting activities and for religious events. Political rallies are not allowed here. It is completely against the civic body's guidelines on the use of playgrounds and recreational grounds in the city,” explained the official.

Police officials present at the rally estimated the total gathering at around 3500. “The total capacity of the ground is around 5,000. But we are seeing a political rally here for the first time," said one policeman at the event on Wednesday.

Another senior civic official expressed shock over the violation. “The party, which has been fighting for bringing in transparency in the system, eradicating corruption and aiming to give an alternative to traditional political parties seems to be behaving just like them,” the officer said.

When contacted, AAP spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon admitted that permission had been sought to celebrate Shivaji Jayanti.

Finding open space for political rallies is a challenging prospect in Mumbai. Last year, the Bombay High Court allowed the Shiv Sena to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park ground in Dadar subject to certain conditions. The Sena also ran into controversies for alleged violations of these conditions. Citizen's activists and resident welfare associations are also very conscious and alert in Mumbai about the use of open spaces and have been fighting to save them for several years now.

AAP spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon said, "It is our genuine mistake. Our party workers didn't realise what they were doing. But, we will ensure that it is not repeated," she admitted.

But she also blamed civic officials for misguiding the party workers. "When our party workers went to seek permission to celebrate Shivaji Jayanti and to hold political meeting, civic officials said permission can be given only for Shivaji Jayanti. The party workers didn't realise what it means and its political implications. But, it seems that civic officials have dragged us into this," she explained.

According to the Mumbai civic body’s guidelines on using playgrounds, they can only be used for sporting activities. The playgrounds can also be used for religious and traditional events such as Ganeshostav, Navratri and Durga Puja, for not more than 30 days in a year. Rallies and events such as May 1 (Maharashtra Day), January 26 (Republic Day) and August 15 (Independence Day) can be staged here, but no political rallies or events will be allowed on civic playgrounds.