Milind Deora, Congress minister of state for communication and information technology and Aditya Thackeray, chief of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena both supported the idea of the mayor of the city getting major powers.
On Tuesday Mr Deora tweeted Mr Thackeray asking his opinion on an article written by him Direct Mayor, Direct Accountability on his official website. It bemoans the current state of affairs in the city and demands for better governance. “The recent, unfortunate rape incident is a reflection of a deeper malaise. I am overwhelmed with grief and anger, pained to see this city decay. I want better governance,” he said.
The article states, “All the MPs, MLAs and municipal councilors elected from Mumbai are capable people, but are hostage to an inefficient governance model. There’s no one person in charge of Mumbai.”
He said that for a large city like Mumbai the administration cannot be dependent on state government or ministers not elected directly from Mumbai. “’Decentralisation of power is the only solution”, Mr Deora stated.
He continued, “Like councillors, the mayor should be elected directly, so that he will be accountable to Mumbai’s voters. However, he conceded that it will not happen immediately. “But, slowly, after 10-20 years, one man, mayor will be accountable and Mumbaikars’ will get better governance” he concluded.
In response, Mr Thackeray tweeted, “It actually would make more sense to give more powers to the BMC, and the state government to hear out the corporators.”
He elaborated, “I have suggested equal share of authorities and responsibilities for each local self-government, be it a municipal council or a zila parishad. So that they can be fully held responsible for good or bad work, irrespective of political parties.”