Events & Personalities
Plea for a Parsi MLC
Consequent to his writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to subsidize trips to Iran for members of the Parsi community, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Malabar Hill constituency is also trying to have a Parsi member nominated to the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), Minoo Khan, president of the Borivali and Suburban Zoroastrian Association has informed Parsiana via the email (see "Subsidized travel to Iran,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, September 7, 2014). Lodha has met the governor of Maharashtra to put forward his suggestion, which is akin to the government’s practice of nominating an Anglo-Indian member to the MLC.
Mangal Prabhat Lodha: for a Parsi in politics
Khan, a Bharatiya Janata Party activist, listed the work done by Lodha for the community over the past 25 years — protection of the Bhikha Behram Well, renovation of the Doongerwadi pavilion, cleaning of water tanks in Parsi colonies, computer training classes for senior citizens and initiatives in the health and medical field. More recently, Lodha donated Rs 15 lakhs from his funds for laying new drainage pipes at Doongerwadi.
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One reader wrote
Mr Lodha should be lauded for the generous and thoughtful constituent services he has rendered to our community. He should be rewarded with the community's votes and affection. Parsis, however, would in the long run be better off and better respected by their fellow Indians if they do not ask for or accept extraordinary favors, such as subsidised trips to Iran (even if other communities get similar benefits) or a reserved seat in the Legislative Council.
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