NCP while taking an aggressive posture after the arrest of party legislator Mr Jitendra Awhad in connection with stopping the screening of the Marathi film Har Har Mahadev, slammed the Shinde Fadnavis government and questioned what offence has he committed. State NCP chief Mr Jayant Patil claimed that fighting against the defamation of Chhatrapati Shivaji has now become an offence in Maharashtra. NCP came in full support of Mr Awhad condemning his arrest.
Mr Patil said, "Jitendra Awad and some people protested the way Har Har Mahadev, the film released on Chhatrapati Shivaji Mahadev, was shown by destroying history. If you ask a person who has faith in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj anywhere in Maharashtra, he will never tolerate this. So Jitendra Awad and many people from Maharashtra are slowly coming forward.” He further added, ‘’The movie has tried to show some basic changes which are a distortion of history. It cannot work in Maharashtra and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's state. They are opposed.’’
Mr Patil claimed that the government is not taking any action against those who distorted history but arresting those who protested against it.
The party MP Ms Supriya Sule said ‘’What is really going on in the state? Full pardon to one who commits a mistake and punishment to one who agitates. This reminisces of the days of British rule. Even if we all have to go to jail for this work we will go. Maharashtra will not tolerate insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.’’ She added, ‘’If Jitendra Awhad is arrested for this work, we are proud of him.’’
‘’There is no denying the talk about from whom the Maharashtra Police gets the calls,’’ she said.
The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Mr Aaditya Thackeray also criticised the state government for Mr Awahd’s arrest. ‘’Jitendra Awhad has done the right thing. We are ready to go to jail with him.’’
However, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has welcomed Mr Awhad’s arrest. MNS leader Mr Amey Kopkar applauded the Thane police for the arrest of Awhad. "The way a person was attacked and beaten, the way Marathi cinema was stalled in Maharashtra, that too a historical movie on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, this should be prohibited and I laud the Thane police for taking appropriate action", he said.
The Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena spokesman Mr Kiran Pawaskar also justified Mr Awhad’s arrest. ‘’I thank the state government,’’ he said.
'Har Har Mahadev' row
Awhad, the MLA from the Mumbra-Kalwa constituency in Thane city, tweeted that he was summoned to the Vartak Nagar police station in the afternoon and put under arrest.
On November 7, Awhad and his supporters barged into a multiplex in the city and stopped a show of "Har Har Mahadev", alleging that the film distorted the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Some cine-goers were also beaten up when they protested against the forcible stopping of the show, video footage of the incident showed.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Vartak Nagar police station under Indian Penal Code sections 323 (assault) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace following the incident.
Awhad was housing minister in the previous Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the state.
