Kangana-Shiv Sena face-off escalates with BMC demolition
The drama began around 10am after a team of 30 workers and officials of the BMC reached Ranaut’s office in Bandra’s Pali Hill and began the demolition of some areas inside and on the exterior of the premises, which the agency said was built illegally.
The Shiv Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday demolished parts of an office owned by Kangana Ranaut, who then hit out at Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray in a rare confrontation between a member of the film industry and a political party that also unfolded in angry street demonstrations and a courtroom battle.
The drama began around 10am after a team of 30 workers and officials of the BMC reached Ranaut’s office in Bandra’s Pali Hill and began the demolition of some areas inside and on the exterior of the premises, which the agency said was built illegally.
A lawyer representing the 33-year-old actor, whose run-ins with the Maharashtra government in the aftermath of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in June have taken an acerbic turn this month, approached the Bombay high court challenging a BMC notice that gave her 24 hours to reply to allegations of zoning law violations.
The court ordered the demolition to stop. “The manner in which BMC proceeded to commence demolition work prima facie does not appear to be bonafide (in good faith) and smacks of malafide (dishonest intentions),” a division bench of justices SJ Kathawalla and RI Chagla said after a 55-minute hearing over video conference.
By then, much of the demolition had already taken place. Section 354A of the MMC Act, 1888, authorises BMC to demolish an illegal construction if a response is not satisfactory. Ranaut, who had sought seven days to respond to the BMC’s notice, denies any illegal construction.
Throughout the day, Ranaut directed a tirade at the state government, first in a series of tweets likening the demolitions to “fascism” and “death of democracy” as she took a flight from Manali to Mumbai, where hordes of angry Shiv Sena workers protested at the airport.
“My home was demolished today; your arrogance will crumble tomorrow. Remember, this is the wheel of time. It keeps changing,” the actor said in a video message addressing Thackeray late in the afternoon. In the video, she also said she realised the pain of Kashmiri Pandits, who had to leave their homes, after the demolition drive on her premises. “Not only on Ayodhya, I will also make a film on Kashmir,” she said.
Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena parliamentarian and party spokesperson, denied commenting on Ranaut’s video clip. “Only Uddhavji, or if required Sanjay Raut, or will speak on this matter,” a senior party leader said. Raut could not be reached for comments.
The acrimony between the government and the actor stems from her criticism of the Mumbai police and the state’s handling of the Rajput death investigation. The remarks prompted Raut to advise the actor not to return to Mumbai, prompting a series of tit-for-tat responses that at one occasion involved the MP using expletives for the actor, who in turn referred the country’s financial capital as “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir” and “Pakistan”.
The controversy has taken larger political tone, with the Congress accusing her of carrying forward the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s political agenda.
Ranaut got Y-plus security from the BJP-ruled Centre two days ago in the midst of her spat with Sena leaders, a decision that the Maharashtra government termed “surprising” even as the actor thanked home minister Amit Shah on Twitter.
On Tuesday, the state ordered a probe into allegations that she consumed drugs.
The building at the heart of the fresh controversy is Manikarnika Films Private Limited office, located in Bungalow Number 5, a ground plus two-storey structure, in the plush Bandra area. Ranaut bought it in 2017 for ₹200 crore.
According to civic officials, it has existed in their records since the 1970s and Ranaut made illegal alterations to it. The row first broke out on Monday after a BMC team visited Ranaut’s office and carried out an inspection. The next day, BMC issued pasted the show-cause notice on the gate of the property.
According to Ranaut’s lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui, BMC officials on Wednesday carried on with the demolition work, which finally ended around 12:30pm, even as the court hearing was underway. The HC was expected to take up the matter again on Thursday afternoon.
“We carried out demolition work over structural violations...After the demolition process, further action will be taken legally,” said Vinayak Vispute, assistant municipal commissioner of BMC’s H west ward covering Bandra.
Another BMC official, who did not want to be named, said, “We have taken the action legally, and we will inform the court on Thursday.”
