Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused Congress MLA Satish Jarkiholi of insulting Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Mr. Fadnavis tweeted a video clip of Mr. Jarkiholi’s speech at the Manava Bandhutva Vedike rally in Nippani on November 6.
In the video clip, Satish Jarkiholi says that British had arrested Sambhaji Maharaj and gave him capital punishment. The Congress MLA says that someone had mixed poison in Shivaji Maharaj’s food, and that Sambhaji Maharaj had acted against that person. “Then, he was named as Dharmaveer Sambhaji Maharaj, which became a part of history. History writing can be very different in this country, and understanding history can take a long time,’‘ he says.
However, the video clip appears to be edited.
A Wikipedia entry quotes scholar Audrey Truschke saying that Shivaji’s wife Soyarabai Bhosle Mohite had poisoned him to ensure the succession of her son Rajarama Bhosle to the throne.
Mr. Fadnavis has tagged Rahul Gandhi, who is on a Bharat Jodo Yatra, and asked the Congress MP if this is the party’s official stand. He warned that Maharashtra would not tolerate it.
“Mr @RahulGandhi, Do you agree with this non sensical, misleading, insulting lie spewed out by your party’s MLA, about the great Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj? Is this your Congress Party’s official statement? Maharashtra will not tolerate this!’‘ he tweeted.
The new controversy comes on the heels of a recent one in which Mr. Jarkiholi was criticised for his comment that the word ‘Hindu’ is of Persian origin and has a ‘dirty and insulting’ connotation. The working president of the State Congress unit had retracted his statement following protests by the BJP and pressure from his own party.
A protest by BJP supporters against Congress MLA Satish Jarkiholi for a controversial remark on the origin on the word ‘Hindu’, in Belagavi on November 9, 2022. | Photo Credit: BADIGER P K
