In a scathing attack on Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Uddhav Thackeray urged the Centre to take back the Amazon parcel which they have sent in form of the Governor.
Threatening to hold protests across the state if the Governor is not removed from his post, Thackeray said, “Take this sample back or send him to old age home. Such a slip of tongue cannot happen every time. Central govt should understand that Maharashtra won’t quietly sit down,”.
Shivaji Maharaj, an Icon of the Olden Days
This comes in the aftermath of the fresh controversy stoked by Koshyari on November 19 when he called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj an ‘old idol’.
Addressing a function at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad on Saturday, the Maharashtra governor said, “Earlier, when you were asked who your icon is, the answers would be Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Mahatma Gandhi. In Maharashtra, you need not look elsewhere (as) there are so many icons here. While Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is an icon of the olden days, now there are BR Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari,”.
Governor’s Remark Draws Sena’s Fury
The governor’s remark on the Maratha warrior however did not go down well with especially the Sena leaders who condemned the governor’s statement saying he is known to disrespect great leaders.
“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not only our deity but our source of inspiration. He will always be the idol for all of us,” Anand Dubey, a spokesman for the Uddhav Sena said in a statement.
Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction on Monday also demanded that Koshyari be shifted out of the state.
“The governor should understand that the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj never age and he cannot be compared to any other great person in the world. My request to BJP leaders at the Centre is that a person who does not know the history of the state and how it functions, be sent somewhere else,” the MLA said.
The sentiments of Sena leaders were also shared by BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who slammed Koshyari and party colleague Sudhanshu Trivedi for their alleged objectionable remarks about the iconic 17th-century king.
“When I heard the governor’s statement about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, I could not understand what was the basis of such a statement,” Bhosale said, adding the king fought for justice and to free people from slavery when all other rulers had accepted Mughal suzerainty.
In addition, he also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded Koshyari’s removal from the post.
In the letter to Modi, Bhosale said the prime minister’s visit to Raigad Fort and unveiling of the new naval flag which features Shivaji Maharaj’s seal proved his “dedication” towards the iconic king.
“…but it would also be appropriate to remove the Hon Governor of Maharashtra as his statements seem very contradictory to the dedication you hold towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” the letter read.
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