On Wednesday, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray followed the set tradition of the Maharashtra government and paid homage to the warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji on his 390th birth anniversary at Shivneri Fort in Junnar, Pune district, the birthplace of Shivaji.
This, even though the Shiv Sena has always opposed February 19 as the birth anniversary of Shivaji, saying that the anniversary should be observed in March as per the Hindu calendar.
When asked about this apparent flip-flop on the part of Thackeray, former Shiv Sena MP from Shirur, Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, said, “Today Uddhav Thackeray, being the chief minister of the state attended the celebrations at Shivneri and we were all present there. But the Shiv Sena will celebrate Shiv Jayanti this year on the ‘tithi’ day (as per the Hindu calendar) which is on March 12.”
On previous occasions, although the Sena had opposed the BJP-led state government’s celebration of the Shiv Jayanti on February 19, Sena ministers had participated in the event so as not to embarrass the alliance partner.
The controversy over the correct date for Shiv Jayanti was set to rest, when in 1995, Manohar Joshi as chief minister of the Shiv Sena-BJP government, had appointed a committee of historians and academicians to resolve the issue. The committee’s submission that February 19 be declared as the official birth anniversary of Shivaji was finally accepted by the subsequent Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government led by Vilasrao Deshmukh.
{{/usCountry}}The controversy over the correct date for Shiv Jayanti was set to rest, when in 1995, Manohar Joshi as chief minister of the Shiv Sena-BJP government, had appointed a committee of historians and academicians to resolve the issue. The committee’s submission that February 19 be declared as the official birth anniversary of Shivaji was finally accepted by the subsequent Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government led by Vilasrao Deshmukh.
{{/usCountry}}Thus, while the state government has accepted February 19 as the official birth anniversary, Shiv Sena is among those organisations which celebrates the anniversary as per the Hindu calendar.
On Wednesday, Thackeray, accompanied by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar visited Shivneri Fort and attended several programmes at the fort, including the ‘cradle ceremony’ to pay homage to Shivaji.
While Thackeray said a ‘sound and light’ show would be introduced at the fort as a part of tourist attraction, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar announced an allocation of Rs 23 crore for the development of the fort.
At the Shivneri celebrations, Thackeray said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has always been a source of inspiration to me and to all of us and so I am extremely happy to be here as the chief minister of the state. Everyone is saying that parties with different ideologies have come together to form a government. But what all of us have in common is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his teachings.”
He said after seeking blessings of Shivaji and his mother, Jijau Masaheb, he has pledged to run a government like Shivaji did in his era.
“Our government is strong and will not go away,” he said.