Pune: Activist Vinita Deshmukh Slams Naming of Baner Cancer Hospital After BJP Corporator’s Father, Urges CM Fadnavis to Intervene

Baner, 16th May 2026: Prominent citizen and activist Vinita Deshmukh has strongly objected to the naming of a newly constructed cancer hospital in Baner after Yashwantrao Bhimale, the father of BJP corporator and former Standing Committee Chairman, Shrinath Bhimale.

In a video statement, Deshmukh urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to direct the removal of the current signboard and officially rename the facility “Baner Cancer Hospital” before going ahead with its scheduled inauguration on Sunday (16th May).

Highlighting a recurring pattern of politicians appropriating public amenities, Deshmukh expressed her frustration over the misuse of taxpayers’ money. She pointed out that Shrinath Bhimale, a corporator representing Salisbury Park, has no connection to the Baner area, and she openly questioned his late father’s contributions to the city.

“You build hospitals with our public tax money, and then you name them after your father. What did Yashwantrao Bhimale do? Did he do even one centimeter of work for Pune?” Deshmukh asked in the video.

The controversy heavily echoes a previous dispute involving a public garden in Salisbury Park. According to Deshmukh, local residents fought a grueling 40-year legal battle—reaching the High Court and the Supreme Court—to reclaim the garden space from a private builder. After winning the case, citizens had explicitly requested Shrinath Bhimale not to name the garden after any private individual. Although he initially agreed and the park was named the ‘Pune Municipal Corporation Garden’, Deshmukh alleged that on March 30 of last year, the corporator changed the signboard overnight to bear his father’s name.

Despite a six-month citizen campaign and a personal assurance fromCM Fadnavis that corrective action would be taken, Deshmukh noted that the situation remained unchanged.

Now, with CM Fadnavis scheduled to inaugurate the new Baner facility, Deshmukh has appealed directly to him to take a stand. “My request is that you first ask them to remove that board, name it ‘Baner Cancer Hospital,’ and only then inaugurate it,” she demanded, stating that citizens are tired of enduring such a “mockery.”

Deshmukh also highlighted a broader systemic issue, claiming there are 358 locations across the city where public properties have been named after the relatives of various corporators—including uncles, parents, siblings, and children.

Currently abroad, Deshmukh warned of severe pushback if the political renaming continues. “I am out of the country right now, but upon my return, I will launch a massive agitation,” she announced. Concluding her video message, she appealed directly to the leadership: “Devendra Fadnavis saheb, Navalram saheb, please listen to the agony of the citizens. This is getting to be too much.”