The chairman of Mumbai's Siddhivinkaya temple trust, Adesh Bandekar, who is also a Shiv Sena part secretary, has been accorded with the rank of Minister of State (MoS) by the state government.
The move means that as a government servant, Bandekar is eligible for several financial benefits such as a monthly allowance of Rs. 7,500, Rs. 3,000 monthly for telephone expenses and travel allowances. Bandekar is also liable to receive Rs. 500 for attending every meeting of the Siddhivinkaya temple trust.
He will also be entitled to have one Personal Assistant, typist and a peon. He will not be entitled to a telephone operator, bodyguard or security at his personal residence. He is also barred from using the national flag on his car, as per the Government Resolution (GR).
In an interview with ANI, Bandekar assured that he would not be taking any allowances from the state. "I won't take any allowance, I just want to serve people. The status of MoS has not been given to a particular person, it has been given to the position (Chairman of Siddhi Vinayak temple trust) in which I am right now," he told ANI.
On a related note, the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government had on April 4 granted MoS status to five religious figures in the state. Baba Narmadanand, Baba Hariharanand, Computer Baba, Bhaiyyu Maharaj, and Pandit Yogendra Mahant were inducted in the state cabinet.
The move had led to a petition in the Indore High Court against the decision as it was termed by the opposition as an 'appeasement politics' move.
[With inputs from ANI]
