MUMBAI: Amid a row over a garden in the northern suburb of Malad being named after Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Monday said the signboard announcing this at the site was placed by the local MLA and that it had nothing to do with the civic body.
The garden was named after Tipu Sultan at a recent function presided by Congress minister and local MLA Aslam Sheikh and it had led to the BJP as well as some right-wing Hindu outfits decrying the move and organising protests at the site.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pednekar said, "No garden had been officially named after Tipu Sultan, and the signboard announcing this was installed by the local MLA, with whom we are talking."
She also said only one-fourth of the land on which the garden was situated belonged to the Brihanmumbai Mumbai Municipal Corporation and the rest belonged to the collector.
The mayor also claimed the controversy over the naming was being done by some groups to destabilize the metropolis.
While Tipu Sultan is often hailed in history for his relentless fight against the British, right-wing Hindu groups have decried that he was a bigot who treated his non-Muslim subjects and adversaries cruelly.