Shivaji remarks row: Maharashtra governor seeks Amit Shah’s advice

The Opposition parties have been protesting against Maharashtra governor BS Koshyari after his remarks on Maratha king Shivaji courted a controversy.

Amid the controversy over his remarks on Maratha king Shivaji, Maharashtra governor B S Koshyari has written a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah clarifying his side and seeking the latter’s advice on the issue, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Maharashtra governor BS Koshyari (File Photo)

Raj Bhavan spokesperson did not confirm or deny the letter.

The development has come ahead of the Opposition’s proposed protest against the Maharashtra government on December 17. The governor’s alleged insult of Maratha icons is one of the key issues that will be highlighted in the protest.

Earlier, people familiar with the matter in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had indicated that the governor would resign from the post after the Gujarat assembly election results on December 8.

The Opposition parties have been protesting against Koshyari after his remarks that King Shivaji was an icon of the past era and now the state has new icons from B R Ambedkar to Nitin Gadkari.

Later, he expressed his regret over the remarks saying that they were misinterpreted. However, the Opposition parties as well as certain Maratha outfits have been seeking his ouster.

Descendants of King Shivaji, Udayanraje Bhonsale, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, and Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati too have demanded his ouster.

An official on condition of anonymity said that Koshyari in his two-page letter dated December 6, has explained how his remarks were selectively used to criticise him.

“I told the students that some keep Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose (as their icons). In Maharashtra’s context, I said that leaders from Dr B R Ambedkar to Nitin Gadkari can be examples for ideals. This meant that students can keep APJ Abdul Kalam, Homi Bhabha as ideals. Today PM Narendra Modi’s name is held in high esteem for taking the country to new heights,” the letter said.

“Not just Maharashtra, the entire country is proud of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. During Covid, when people did not come out of their houses, I went to forts like Shivneri, Sinhagad, Pratapgad and Raigad. In the last 30 years, I am the only governor who went to Sindkhed Raja, the birth place of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s mother Jijau Bhosale. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is always a source of inspiration for me,” it added.

The governor further said that in 2016, he had publicly declared in his native place Haldwani in Uttarakhand that he would not contest any election and would stay away from posts of power. He added that he accepted the post of Maharashtra governor due to the Prime Minister’s love for him.

“I would never hesitate to apologise if I was wrong. I would never dream of even insulting figures like Maharana Pratap, Guru Gobind Singh, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” the letter said.