The final journey of former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata and former Mumbai Congress MP Baba Siddiqui (now of the National Congress Party) ended this week. The Maharashtra government bid farewell to both of them with state honours. Obviously, this move by the Maharashtra government has caused dissatisfaction among many people. Many people in the country don’t like it whenever they try to weigh the two on the same scale. In fact, their personalities are worlds apart. One contributed to strengthening the foundations of the country’s economic structure, while the other’s contribution only created a conflict between two superstars of the film industry.
On October 10, the Maharashtra government held the last rites of industrialist Ratan Tata with state honors. On October 13, three-time MLA Baba Siddiqui also received the same honor. Apparently, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s decision was severely criticized on social media. Many of these names are very close to the BJP. There is no doubt at present that this decision of the Maharashtra government is not CM Shinde’s decision alone. The biggest stakeholder in the government is the Bharatiya Janata Party. In fact, the acting chief minister is Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister of the state. Clearly, the BJP must have been equally involved in this decision.
1-Two personalities, one national honor
When two different people who die in the same week receive the same national honor, problems are bound to arise. Under the leadership of Ratan Tata, India launched its first truly Indian car, the Indica, in 1998. He offered Nano, the world’s cheapest car, to Indians. Under Ratan Tata, the Tata Group acquired Tetley, Jaguar, Land Rover and Corus, giving the group a global presence. recognized. He transformed the Tata Group from a $5 billion-a-year global conglomerate into a $100-billion-a-year global conglomerate. Its operations span 100 countries. Ratan Tata’s contribution to nation-building through industry was long-lasting. He was also a philanthropist, helping to establish cancer hospitals in several states.
Unlike Ratan Tata, Baba Siddiqui is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and obviously people are asking why Baba Siddiqui received national honours. A verified post from the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office said that between 2004 and 2008, Baba Siddiqui served as Minister of State in various departments and as the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) Chairman. and received national honors. Besides being elected to Parliament three times, Baba Siddiqui was also known for his lavish iftar parties. He is famous for convincing Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, who were angry at each other, to hug each other at an iftar party in 2013.
Writer Shefali Vaidya also questioned Siddiqui’s national honor. She wrote on the X handle that Baba Siddiqui is not a saint! His murder was the result of a gang war. What a shame he was given a state funeral. Although the opposition parties raised questions about the law and order situation in the state after Siddiqui’s murder, no political party challenged the government on the issue of national honor for the three-time MLA.
2- Why Baba Siddiqui does not deserve this honor
However, the government has a provision that once sworn in as a minister or as an MLA or MP, he or she will receive national honors after his or her death. Although many leaders did not receive national honors despite this. On this basis, Babi Siddiqui also seems to have been deprived of the right to receive national honours. There are also people who look at it from a political perspective. Baba Siddiqui switched from the Congress to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in February this year. The National Communist Party led by Ajit Pawar was part of the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government.
Kailash Wagh, who works for a content company in Mumbai, was paying homage to Baba Siddiqui as part of a state funeral. Why let Ajit Pawar stay with Devendra Fadnavis by insulting all respected brave police officers and those who have received such national honours?
In fact, Baba Siddiqui is accused of having close ties with the Daoud Ibrahim gang and is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. It wasn’t enough for Baba when Siddiqui was questioned for nine hours by the Enforcement Director in June 2017 over his alleged involvement in the Rs 500-crore Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) scam and alleged profit-sharing business deals with the Satra group ? Siddiqui not to be awarded national honor?
3-Has the BJP also joined the game of appeasing Muslim votes?
Things are not going well for the BJP in Maharashtra. After the BJP suffered a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, where Muslims play a decisive role in 28 seats in Maharashtra, the Marathas have made only promises to the government regarding Maratha reservation. Marathas see that the Mahayut government is not getting Muslim votes, is it trying to get Muslim votes? Because this week the Sindh cabinet took another decision that surprised politicians. The Maharashtra cabinet has recommended doubling the salary of madrasa teachers. Apparently, the Congress government had taken such a decision earlier. Should it be assumed that the BJP has now also embarked on the path of appeasing Muslims?
