Prateek Tanmay
3 min readMumbaiMay 25, 2026 09:31 PM IST
A controversy erupted on Monday after the names of Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde and Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi were omitted from invitations for the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Siddhivinayak temple beautification project, prompting the Shiv Sena to accuse the civic administration of violating protocol.
While Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials maintained that the invitation had been issued by the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust, the trust later released revised invitations carrying the names of both civic dignitaries. Tawde and Ghadi subsequently attended the ceremony alongside Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday evening.
The Siddhivinayak temple precinct, one of Mumbai’s most visited religious landmarks, is set to undergo a phased beautification and road redevelopment project funded by the BMC. The first phase was formally launched on Monday at an event organised by the temple trust after years of delay.
The omission of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor from the invitation drew sharp criticism from Ghadi, who convened a meeting with BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide and alleged that the civic body’s highest offices had been insulted.
“Even though the Municipal Corporation has provided funds worth crores of rupees for the beautification work, its highest representatives were excluded from the programme,” Ghadi said in a letter to the commissioner.
Calling the incident a breach of democratic norms, the letter stated that the administration had a “moral and legal responsibility” to uphold the dignity of elected representatives and that the omission had “damaged the honour of the BMC”. Ghadi also sought action against officials responsible for the lapse.
Civic officials, however, distanced themselves from the controversy, saying the programme was organised entirely by the temple trust.
“The beautification project is funded by the BMC, but Monday’s event was organised by the trust, which issued the invitations,” a civic source said.
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Following backlash, the trust issued fresh invitations and installed banners carrying the names of Tawde and Ghadi.
During his meeting with the commissioner, Ghadi also raised concerns over an alleged protocol breach at the launch of the Mumbai Clean League programme, where he claimed he was made to sit in the fourth row in the Mayor’s absence. Shiv Sena leader Amey Ghole had earlier written to former civic chief Bhushan Gagrani, arguing that the Deputy Mayor should have been accorded precedence at the event.
