Pimpri-Chinchwad: Defacement of the photo of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on a poster featuring Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis was seen on Thursday morning in Pimpri-Chinchwad's Pimple Saudagar area. Statewide, posters of CM Fadnavis felicitating Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj have been printed and put up on flyovers, bridges, and grade separator walls.
In Pimple Saudagar's Jagtap Dairy Chowk area, one such poster was defaced, particularly where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s photo was printed.
Regarding this, a criminal case has been filed against an unknown accused by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police. The case was initially registered at Sant Tukaram Nagar Police Station; however, it was later transferred to Kalewadi Police Station as Jagtap Dairy Chowk falls under their jurisdiction. Maratha Reservation Quota activist Dhanaji Madhukar Yelkar (42, Thergaon) filed a police complaint.
Police have booked an unknown person under BNS Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs). According to available information, since last week, posters featuring CM Devendra Fadnavis and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj have been put up across the state. This move has been criticised by many people, saying the posters are not placed at appropriate locations and may get damaged.
In Jagtap Dairy Chowk on Thursday, the side of the poster featuring Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was seen defaced with alleged gutka spit marks and some mud. Dhanaji Yelkar and some activists in the region went to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) building and demanded that these posters be removed promptly. They then filed a police complaint.
Yelkar said, “We saw this disgraceful thing happening on Thursday morning at 6 a.m. We cleaned the poster neatly and did a religious abhishek of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s photo on the poster. We demand strict action be taken against anyone who did this.”
Fadnavis’s Poster Causes Debate
A few days ago, the same poster was published as an advertisement on the front page with the words ‘Deva Bhau’ written on it. The opposition, specifically Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), raised concerns about this. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was particularly vocal, questioning who actually paid crores for the advertisement. He even speculated that CM Fadnavis himself might have funded it.
After the criticism, the same posters were seen across the state in the following days, on every corner. This too has been criticised by many people, particularly the opposition, who said the posters were put up in an unplanned manner and might get damaged or destroyed for multiple reasons, including rain.
