The ongoing war of words between Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue of penguins has now intensified. BJP had criticised Sena for non-Marathi names of penguins, high cost of enclosure and maintenance of penguins at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Park and Zoo (Rani Bagh). However, mayor Kishori Pednekar, who visited Ahmedabad recently, said the names of penguins in Ahmedabad were not local and Mumbai excelled in terms of expenses incurred for the penguin project, tourist fees and other amenities.

Recently, the BJP had attacked Sena over the naming ceremony of penguins, where Pednekar had named a penguin cub Oscar. After returning from Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad, the mayor held a press conference on Monday. While talking to the media, she announced that the cost for enclosure and maintenance of penguins in Mumbai is cheaper than the Science City of Gujarat. She added that Mumbai`s help was sought for setting up a penguin cell in Gujarat.