Pune Shutdown To Protest Comments Against Shivaji Maharaj, Others Evokes Good Response

The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Sambhaji Brigade and some other outfits supported the bandh.

Statue of shivaji maharaja near gatway of india, Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra (Representational Image)

Source : Getty

The bandh called by Opposition parties in Pune on Tuesday to protest comments against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and other iconic leaders of Maharashtra, evoked a good response as most shops and businesses remained closed.

No untoward incident was reported during the protest, police said.

While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has not supported the shutdown, its Rajya Sabha MP Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Shivaji Maharaj, joined a silent march organised by the protesters.

The march began at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj's statue and culminated at the Lal Mahal in the city.

The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Sambhaji Brigade and some other outfits supported the bandh.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare also participated in the march.

The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Pune remained closed.

Shops in the city remained closed till 3 pm.

"Hundred per cent of shops remained closed till 3 pm. After 3 pm, the shops opened for businesses," said Fatehchand Ranka, president of the Federation of Traders Associations of Pune (FATP).

Officials of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal (PMPL) said most of its buses were plying on the roads. "Only 10 per cent of the buses were pulled off the roads", an official said.

Meanwhile, Bhosale demanded the BJP take action against Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi as it had done in Nupur Sharma's case.

Koshyari stirred up controversy last month when he called Shivaji Maharaj an "icon of olden times" at a public function.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi's statement that Shivaji Maharaj had 'apologised' to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb also evoked angry reactions in Maharashtra.

“The kind of disciplinary action that was taken against Nupur Sharma should now be taken against Koshyari and Trivedi. This is the feeling of most people in Maharashtra,” Bhosale told reporters.

Addressing protesters, Andhare took a jibe at Bhosale for not coming on the dais and taunted he might have gone to Delhi to "tender his resignation as the BJP MP".

"Udayanraje was there with us while presenting garland to the statue of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj (at the start of the march). We thought that he would come here (on the stage) to register his protest but he did not come here. Perhaps, he could not bear the insult of iconic leaders and he might have rushed to Delhi to tender his resignation," she said.

The bandh call was originally given to protest Koshyari's controversial statement about the founder of the Maratha empire.

Last week, state minister and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil's statement that Dr B R Ambedkar and social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule "begged" people for money to start educational institutions instead of seeking government aid was also perceived as insulting and drew protests. 

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)