The famed 'wagh nakh' or tiger claw dagger of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is scheduled to return to India shortly. On Tuesday, Maharashtra Ministers Sudhir Mungantiwar and Uday Samant signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for bringing back Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's "Wagh Nakh" or tiger claw from the Victoria and Albert Museum to India for three years, news agency PTI reported.
Maharashtra Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar shared a video clip providing the glimpses of 'Wagh Nakh' (tiger claw) used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, ANI reported.
Shivaji Maharaj used the 'wagh nakh' to assassinate Bijapur Mughal commander Afzal Khan in 1659.
A squabble has developed, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray wondering if the 'wagh nakh' received from a museum in the United Kingdom will stay permanently or be loaned out, and whether it belonged to Shivaji Maharaj or was from that era.
Earlier this month, after the news of Maharashtra ministers to travel to the UK to bring back wagh nakh to India came out, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut called it an insult to the wagh nakh since the Shiv Sena is Shivaji's true wagh nakh (tiger claw). The weapon will be loaned to India for three years.
"What will you do by bringing the weapon which was used to protect the self-respect and integrity of Maharashtra? You have made the state a slave of Delhi," Sanjay Raut had said