Maharashtra: After governor says Shivaji idol of 'olden times', opposition demands his recall

“In our childhood, we were often asked in school, who is your favourite leader or hero. If youngsters today are asked about their icon, they need to look beyond Maharashtra. Chhatrapati Shivaji is an icon from the olden times. I am talking about Modern Times. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari are found right here,” Koshyari was quoted as saying by Times of India.

He made the statement while speaking at the convocation ceremony of Babasaheb Ambedkar University in Aurangabad where NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were awarded honorary D Litt.

The remarks sparked outrage from both the political parties and the descendants of Shivaji.

They demanded that the Centre recall Koshyari, who had such thoughts about Shivaji and other great icons of the state.

Criticising the governor, Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje, former Rajya Sabha member and a direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, said, “I request the prime minister with folded hands that we don’t want such a man as the governor of the state, who harbours such opinion about the great Maratha heroes and saints.”

Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena leader of Uddhav Thackeray camp, said Shivaji’s ideals are eternal and relevant in modern times.

“I don’t know whose ideals he (Koshyari) follows but the country and Maharashtra run on Shivaji’s ideals,” Raut stressed.

A leader of Eknath Shinde faction and Maharashtra industries minister Uday Samant said Shivaji is an idol for India and is respected across the country. While he did not directly criticize the Governor, he maintained that Shivaji should be addressed with respect and reverence.

Earlier, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad, who was arrested last week, as he disrupted the screening of "Har Har Mahadev", a film on Shivaji, alleging a distorted depiction of the Maratha icon, tweeted that it is high time that Koshyari packs his baggage and is sent away.

In the same vein, MNS leader Gajanan Kale demanded Koshyari’s recall from the state. He said the governor has decided to not improve and alleged that he spoke on issues, about which he had no knowledge.

Taking the debate further, Sanjay Raut demanded that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should resign and asked whether he has the ‘self-respect’ that he had cited while rebelling against the Uddhav Thackeray leadership.

Raut accused Shinde of keeping silent even as Koshyari “insulted” Shivaji.

"The Governor has insulted Shivaji Maharaj four times in one year. Still, the government is silent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah consider Shivaji Maharaj an idol and their national spokesperson said that Shivaji Maharaj apologised to Aurangzeb five times. Is this the BJP's official stand? BJP should apologise to Maharashtra and remove the Governor right away," Raut was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.

"I am surprised that the Chief Minister, who gave the slogan of self-respect, broke Shiv Sena and formed the government with the BJP, where has your self-respect gone now? The BJP is openly insulting Shivaji Maharaj. You should resign. If you have any respect for Shivaji Maharaj, why are you in the government with them?"

He also dared the BJP to hit the streets against Koshyari just as it has done against Rahul Gandhi for his comments against Veer Savarkar.