Shivaji remark
'Shivaji Maharaj is our god': Nitin Gadkari after tension sparks over Maharashtra Governor remark
Mumbai/IBNS: As a huge row erupted over Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's remark on Chhatrapati Shivaji, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Monday attempted to appease ally Eknath Shinde.
"Shivaji Maharaj is our god...We revere him even more than our parents," Gadkari said.
Two days ago, Governor Koshyari complimented Gadkari while describing Shivaji as an outdated icon.
"'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," Koshyari said on Saturday.
Koshyari made the comments while conferring honorary doctorates on Gadkari and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar.
However, the comment made it deeply troubling for the Bharatiya Janata party and its five-month-old alliance with Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the NCP slammed the comments, accusing the Governor of demeaning Maharashtra by equating Shivaji with the BJP leader.
Even BJP Rajya Sabha member Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale, who is the 13th direct descendant of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Monday alleged that Governor Koshyari is "third class" and he should be sent to an old age home.
"Perversion has no party, no caste. The parties should throw out such perverted people. The Governor should be pulled down first and thrown somewhere far away. I will decide my next course of action soon," said Udayanaraje.
Team Thackeray also questioned the "silence" of the rival Eknath Shinde faction over comments by a Governor seen to be close to the BJP.
An editorial in the Sena's mouthpiece Saamana has attacked the Governor and asked why Chief Minister Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis were both silent on the Shivaji "insult".
"The Governor's statement can't be a personal opinion, and if it's his personal opinion, then Rahul Gandhi's statement can also be his personal opinion. The Shinde and Fadnavis government doesn't have the guts to oppose the Governor. 11 crore population of Maharashtra also have a 'personal opinion' that whoever insults Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will have to apologize in front of the state," the editorial read.
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