Mumbai: Close on the heels of uproar over his controversial statement that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has become an old idol now, the Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari has been summoned to Delhi.
Mr Koshyari will leave for Delhi on November 24 afternoon and return on November 25. He is expected to meet the President of India Ms Draupadi Murmu and Home Minister Mr Amit Shah.
Observers said that Koshyari will be reprimanded for stoking controversy on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and there is likelihood that he may be removed from the post or shifted out of Maharashtra. When contacted, the Raj Bhavan sources confirmed Mr Koshyari’s visit but declined to share further details.
BJP turns on defensive mode
Mr Koshyari’s comment has put the BJP, which is sharing power with Eknath Shinde led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, on the defensive in the run up to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation. BJP leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP chief Mr Chandrashekhar Bawankule had to make a circus in defending the Governor. Mr Fadnavis said that the Governor’s statement has been understood in a wrong way and some other meaning has been derived from his statement.
However, opposition parties, historians and various organisations have slammed the Governor demanding that he should be sacked from the post. NCP in a letter to the President of India should be shifted out of Maharashtra.
The Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad demanded that Mr Koshyari be shifted out of the state for his recent remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Gaikwad, who represents the Buldhana Assembly constituency, claimed that Koshyari had made statements about the founder of the Maratha Empire and stoked controversy in the past as well.
"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. He also hinted that if Mr Koshyari is not removed then there is a possibility of divide between the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and BJP.
Not the first such comment by Koshyari
It is not for the first time the Governor has sparked controversy. In July, Mr Koshyari landed in a controversy by saying that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from the state, it would be left with no money. His statement on Friday has drawn backlash from leaders across political parties. After much uproar he clarified that he had no intention to look down upon Marathi people
Earlier, political parties had slammed Koshyari over his comment on the social reformers Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule over their early marriage. Thereafter, his statement that Samarth Ramdas was the guru of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also sparked a major controversy. He also hogged the headlines following a war of words between him and the Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.
On March 3 this year, Koshyari faced flak over derogatory comments he made on pioneers like Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. Koshyari at the public function in mocking tone referred to child marriage of Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule. Phules are ideals of social justice. Koshyari had said, ‘’Savitribai was married off when she was ten years old. And her husband Jyotirao was 13 years old. Now imagine, what would the boy and girl have been doing after marriage? What would they have been thinking?”
Mr Koshyari on February 8, 2022 stoked a controversy after he claimed that Samarth Ramdas was Chhatrapati Shivaji’s guru. "Many chakravartis (emperors), maharajas took birth on this land. But, who would have asked about Chandragupta had there not been Chanakya? Who would have asked about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had there not been Samarth (Ramdas)," he said. "I am not questioning the calibre of Chandragupta and Shivaji Maharaj. Like a mother who plays a key role in shaping her child. Similarly, the role of guru (teacher) has a big place in our society," the governor had said.
