Sanjay Raut, a leader in the Shiv Sena faction led by ex Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray - came down heavily on governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari Tuesday over his comment about Chhatrapati Shivaji being a 'hero of the past era'.
"We are not ready to accept him as a governor. A governor is neutral and shows dignity in words and conduct, but our governor speaks on Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj... he has made a mockery out of Maharashtra," he said.
The Rajya Sabha MP's attack comes after Koshyari's comment Saturday about Shivaji, which has triggered furious pushback from Thackeray Sena and its allies in the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government - the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
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The remark put the ruling BJP and its ally - the Sena faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde - under pressure after days of attacking Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for his comment about Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar.
The BJP was forced into further defensive movement after the party's national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi - seemed to score an own goal while trying to attack Gandhi. He was accused of showing disrespect to Shivaji.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP was forced into further defensive movement after the party's national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi - seemed to score an own goal while trying to attack Gandhi. He was accused of showing disrespect to Shivaji.
{{/usCountry}}On Tuesday Raut demanded Koshyari be sacked and also sought Shinde's resignation.
"I am surprised (by) 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 respect for Shivaji Maharaj, why are you in the government with them?" he declared.