Facing flak, Fadnavis apologises for tweet on Shahu Maharaj

After drawing flak over his tweet on Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday apologised for the post

After drawing flak over his tweet on Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday apologised for the post and said the thought of disrespecting the legendary ruler can never come to his mind.

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Fadnavis, in his tweet on the occasion of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj’s death anniversary on May 6 to pay tributes to him, had referred to Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur – revered as a progressive king and social reformer in Maharashtra – as a “social worker”.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sambhaji Raje on Thursday sought a public apology from Fadnavis for hurting sentiments of the followers of late Shahu Maharaj. He tweeted, “Former CM Devendra Fadnavis must apologise to all Shiv-Shahu devotees. He has hurt sentiments of all Shiv-Shahu devotees including myself in the state.”

Fadnavis said, “I had asked my office to make the change in the tweet when I learned about the earlier mistake. The thought of disrespecting him (Shahu Maharaj) cannot ever come into my mind. I admit that sentiments of people are hurt. I apologise for it.”

Raje was nominated to Rajya Sabha by the BJP four years ago with Fadnavis taking the lead to get him under the BJP umbrella.

Fadnavis has recently been having a tough time on social media websites. Last week, the BJP state unit had even submitted a complaint to the city police commissioner against social media trolls for targeting the former CM. (With PTI inputs)