Sena amenable to shift Thackeray's 'samadhi sthal'

MUMBAI: Under pressure from the government, Shiv Sena today indicated its willingness to shift Bal Thackeray's memorial to the margins of Shivaji Park in the city. "Shiv Sainiks will with their own hands shift the 'samadhi sthal a little," Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said in a statement in party mouthpiece 'Saamna', of which he is the new editor.

"The stance of Shiv Sena on the 'samadhi sthal' has always been that of restraint. A permanent 'samadhi sthal' will come up at the 'Shiv Teerth' by shifting the present samadhi sthal a little," Uddhav said.

Uddhav's readiness to shift back the structure to the margins of the Shivaji Park in Mumbai is a climb down from earlier announcements by senior party leaders that Shiv Sainiks would not budge from the present structure.

The Sena leader's statement comes in wake of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation giving a notice to the party over the structure. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had also said that Shivaji Park, a large open ground in central Mumbai, was given to the Shiv Sena for Bal Thackeray's cremation only and they must vacate it.