The Shiv Sena (UBT) will hold a morcha outside the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters on July 1, to protest against irregularities in the civic body over the past year, Uddhav Thackeray, the former chief minister, said on Tuesday. The protest will be led by MLA Aaditya Thackeray. The announcement comes a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde approved a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into irregularities amounting to Rs 12,024 crore in various works carried out by the BMC between November 2019 and October 2022.

Addressing a press conference at Shiv Sena Bhavan, Dadar, Thackeray said the BMC had a deficit when the Shiv Sena took charge in 1977, but in 25 years, it held fixed deposits (FD) amounting to Rs 92,000 crore. Thackeray alleged that around Rs 7,000-9,000 crore has been spent on the FDs. “Someone has to question the BMC because this is the people's money. The Shiv Sena (UBT) will protest against irregularities in the BMC,” he said.