A day after Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut demanded ‘proof’ of BJP leader Udayanraje Bhosale’s claim of being a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, incensed supporters of Mr. Bhosale observed a shut down in Satara.
Mr. Bhosale’s supporters demanded an immediate apology from Mr. Raut for daring to demand such ‘proof’.
Photos of Mr. Raut, along with that of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and State Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, were tied to the necks of donkeys and a procession taken out across Satara city where Mr. Bhosale has great influence.
“Who does he [Mr. Raut] think he is? What does he hope to prove by his over smart remarks? His arrogance knows no bounds. Chief Minister and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray ought to restrain him. We will not let him enter this city unless he publicly retracts his remarks against Udayanraje,” said a BJP leader and supporter of Mr. Bhosale.
There was heavy police deployment in the city through the day to avert any untoward incident.
BJP activists held protests against Mr. Raut in Mumbai, Ahmednagar and other parts of the State while BJP MLA from Ghatkopar, Ram Kadam, demanded that the police lodge a case against Mr. Raut and arrest the Sena MP.
“His [Mr. Raut’s] remarks are truly unfortunate given that the Sena has played politics in this State using Shivaji’s name for the past 50 years… First Sanjay Raut jettisoned his ‘Hindutva’ ideals because of his greed of power [by allying with the ideologically opposed Congress-NCP], then he remained silent on the Savarkar row and now he has forsaken his love for Shivaji and hurt the sentiments of legions of Shivbhakts by casting aspersions on whether Mr. Bhosale is indeed a descendant of the Chhatrapati or not,” said Mr. Kadam, and demanded that Mr. Raut take back his statement and apologise publicly.
Pro-Maratha outfits, too, came out in Mr. Bhosale’s support by lashing out at Mr. Raut.
Aabasaheb Patil, chief coordinator of Maratha Kranti Thok Morcha, demanded an apology from Mr. Raut within the the next 24 hours.
“Instead of criticizing Goyal, he [Mr. Raut] is needlessly and in a most disrespectful manner attacking the house of the Chhatrapati…we will not forgive anybody who insults a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji in this manner,” Mr. Patil warned.
He further urged Chief Minister Thackeray to rein in his party leaders, else pro-Maratha outfit would be compelled to take to the streets in protest.
Mr. Raut’s remarks against Mr. Bhosale, said to be the 13th direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, were made at an event organised by a vernacular newspaper in Pune on Wednesday. With this statement, Mr. Raut, who is editor of Sena mouthpiece Saamana , has kept alive the row over the book Aaj ke Shivaji: Narendra Modi penned by BJP leader Jai Bhagwan Goyal.
Soon after the release of this controversial booklet likening Mr. Modi to a ‘latter-day King Shivaji’, Mr. Raut had questioned the ‘silence’ of Chhatrapati’s descendants.
Mr. Bhosale, while criticising Mr. Goyal’s book, tore into the Sena, questioning why the Sena founder, Bal Thackeray’s photo was placed above that of the Maratha king at Sena Bhavan, the party’s headquarters, in Dadar.
Mr. Bhosale had also said that when the Shiv Sena leaders had named their party, they had never bothered to ask Shivaji’s descendants. Mr. Bhosale also said that the Sena ought to drop ‘Shiv’ from their party name and rename it as ‘Thackeray Sena’.
