CM Shinde Camp MLA Wants Maha Guv To Be 'Sent Somewhere Else' For Remarks On Chhatrapati Shivaji

Gaikwad said, referring to governor Koshyari, that those who does not know the history of the state should be sent somewhere else.

Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction has demanded that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari be shifted out of the state for his recent comments on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 

Gaikwad on Monday accused Koshyari of making objectionable statements about the founder of the Maratha Empire and stoking controversy in the past as well. 

"The governor should understand that the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj never age, and he cannot be compared to any other great person in the world. My request to BJP leaders at the Centre is that a person who does not know the history of the state and how it functions, be sent somewhere else," the MLA said. 

Sanjay Gaikwad is an MLA from Buldhana Assembly constituency and belongs to the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena faction of the party led by CM Eknath Shinde. 

Shinde has made an alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) to form government in Maharashtra. 

Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had, on Saturday, said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an icon of "olden days" and referred to Babasaheb Ambedkar and Union minister Nitin Gadkari while talking about "icons" in the state. He drew flak from the NCP and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction for his comments. 

The governor made the remarks after conferring D.Litt degrees on senior BJP leader Gadkari and NCP president Sharad Pawar at an event held in Aurangabad. 

Reacting to this, NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto said that Koshyari also equated Union Minister Gadkari with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. "The President of India must seriously think of changing this person (Koshyari) holding a constitutional position, who constantly makes statements that create controversy. The BJP is always silent about his demeaning statements that hurt the sentiments of Maharashtrians,' Crasto said, as per PTI. 

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut questioned how Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj can be an old role model when the state and the country follow his ideals even today and will continue to do so. Raut demanded that the BJP, which is protesting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks against V D Savarkar, spell out its stand on Koshyari's "insult" of Shivaji Maharaj and Maharashtra. 

(With Agency Inputs)